Australia, NZ ministers to meet with Fiji PM
Updated
Australia's foreign minister, Stephen Smith, has arrived in Fiji, as part of efforts to pressure the government in Suva to keep its promise to hold free elections next year.
Mr Smith and his counterparts from four Pacific island nations and New Zealand will meet Fiji's prime minister, Frank Bainimarama, on Tuesday.
It is the first time an Australian foreign minister has visited Fiji since the December 2006 coup.
New Zealand's foreign minister, Winston Peters, says the ministers will prepare a report on their talks with Commodore Bainimarama and will discuss the situation at the Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting in Niue next month.
"We have had a long held position in respect to coups - whether it be Fiji or Thailand or other countries," he said.
"And New Zealand upholds the standards of democracy internationally, so that's not new - but we have to see if we can restore democracy to that country or assist that happening."
The Australian government is hoping the interim government will honour its pledge to hold elections early next year.
Meanwhile the European Union has told Fiji's military backed interim government, it expects democratic elections to be held by the end of next February.
The announcement follows a high level EU mission to Fiji last month
The EU has suspended sugar industry assistance to Fiji worth around $US30 million as a response to the 2006 coup.
Commodore Bainimarama staged a coup in December 2006 following a long-running dispute with the then prime minister, Laisenia Qarase.
