New Zealand intends to focus bilateral aid efforts in Fiji in trying to resettle squatters.
There are now about 82,000 people living in 182 squatter settlements across the country, with the number said to be rising quickly.
The New Zealand development agency NZAID is contributing up to US$6.8 million over the next three years to support programmes for squatter resettlement in Fiji.
The New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters has just ended a visit to Fiji, and says he has seen many people living below the poverty line, in dirty and dangerous conditions.
Mr Peters says the growing issue of poverty and hardship will demand greater resources than he says Fiji can muster.
