New Zealand Prime Minister John Key says Fiji is part of the Pacific family but will remain estranged until democracy is restored.
Regional leaders and high-ranking diplomats are meeting in Auckland this week for the 42nd Pacific Islands Forum.
Mr Key, who is also forum chair, has been downplaying support for Fiji, which has been suspended from the forum since 2009 over its refusal to hold elections until 2014.
Following a meeting in Nadi last week, a number of countries called for the suspension to be lifted.
On Wednesday, Kiribati President Anote Tong said though he did not condone what has happened in Fiji, he did not think it should remain suspended.
He used the analogy of having six children with one misbehaving, saying that does not mean the child should be ejected from the family.
Mr Tong said there is more support for Fiji than may be evident but does not think other leaders will be so forthright. He said he would vote to return Fiji to the forum.
However, Mr Key said leaders have expressed to him their support for continuing suspension.
"We are a family of nations here in the Pacific and when one of our family members is excluded, as is currently the case with Fiji, then all of those leaders feel that and are distressed by that. I think it's equally true there is a strong belief in democracy held by the leaders and the rule of law."
However, Mr Key said he understands the distress some leaders feel at the suspension and all have been free to express their views in the variety of meetings that have already been held this week.
UN head defends use of Fiji soldiers
The United Nations Secretary-General defended the organisation's continued use of Fijian soldiers in peacekeeping missions.
There have been calls in the past, including from former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, for the UN to stop using Fijian soldiers because of human rights abuses in that country.
Mr Ban is attending the Pacific Islands Forum and said on Wednesday that no soldier known to have been involved in such abuses is used by UN.
$400m for Pacific education
Earlier, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key and Australian counterpart Julia Gillard announced that the countries would give nearly $400 million of new money for improving education in the Pacific.
The funding is aimed at having 75% of children able to read by the age of 10 and getting more than 500,000 additional children into school by 2021.
New Zealand will provide $145 million for the education initiative and $122 million for three regional scholarships, while Australia will provide $124.5 million.
Mr Key says at present almost 1 million school-aged children are not attending school. He says the future prosperity of the region is dependent on a well educated population.
Opening ceremony
The meeting was formally opened with a colourful ceremony at The Cloud venue on Auckland's waterfront.
Delegates were welcomed with the traditional haka and some not so traditional elements, such as children playing ukuleles and hip-hop dancing.
Meetings between John Key, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barosso were scheduled for later on Wednesday.
