Fiji's land force commander has conceded his government is testing New Zealand by putting forward a senior military figure to be its representative in Wellington.
Last week, Fiji confirmed it had nominated its Permanent Secretary for Information, Lieutenant Colonel Neumi Leweni, to be counsellor at the Fiji High Commission in New Zealand .
That followed the two countries' agreement to send representatives to each other's capitals to improve diplomatic relations.
Now Brigadier Pita Driti has told Auckland's Radio Tarana sending Lieutenant Colonel Leweni won't hurt anyone.
"We are just testing New Zealand's genuity you know, in having to arrange certain names to see how far they can accommodate what we want and if they accept Leweni, it's a great move."
Brigadier Pita Driti
The New Zealand government has yet to comment on the nomination.
Since 2000, New Zealand has a entry ban on Fiji coupmakers.
