A top New Caledonian delegation has flown to Australia at the invitation of the foreign minister, Stephen Smith, to discuss bilateral issues an to explain the 1998 Noumea Accord on greater autonomy.
The delegation is the most comprehensive to leave Noumea for a visit of a regional country, comprising the head of government, Philippe Gomes, the president of the territorial congress, the presidents of the three provinces and the Noumea-based French high commissioner.
The four-day visit is to include a meeting with the Australian prime minister, Kevin Rudd.
There are already significant links between the two sides whose economies are per capita the two most successful in the South Pacific.
