The Nauru Government is heaping praise on Canberra for the positive approach it has taken over aid to the struggling island.
Nauru had been heavily reliant on the money and employment offered by the now closed Australian detention camp set up on the island by the Howard Government as a deterrent to asylum seekers.
But Nauru's foreign Minister, Dr Kieren Keke, says the Rudd Government has helped develop a very positive foundation for the aid relationship, in marked contrast to what existed under the previous Government.
He says it is clear Canberra is now committed to a long term partnership.
"And that enables us, provides a lot of confidence that over time we will be able to address a lot of the issues that we have still to address. In the immediate term, in the shorter term, whilst we had had an expectation from the former Government that assistance to Nauru would be dropping quite rapidly, in fact it's been maintained if not increased a little bit with the Rudd Government."
