NZ foreign minister joins delegation to Fiji

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New Zealand's Foreign Minister Murray McCully has confirmed he will visit Fiji next week. [AFP: Bradley Ambrose]

Pacific Correspondent Campbell Cooney, staff

Last Updated: Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:22:00 +1000

New Zealand's Foreign Minister Murray McCully says he is participating in a high-level Pacific Islands' Forum visit to Fiji next week to to meet with the country's interim government.

Mr McCully says the visit will enable the forum's Ministerial Contact Group to resume direct dialogue with Fiji after a significant interval.

He has thanked the Fiji administration for agreeing to the visit.

Australia's Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr will also be taking part in the discussions.

As the forum chair, New Zealand has been keen to maintain dialogue and engagement with Fiji.

The Pacific Islands' Forum's Ministerial Contact Group was formed after Fiji's coup in 2006.

Since then Fiji has been subject to Pacific-wide sanctions.

The Ministerial Contact Group has not visited or engaged formally with Fiji since the military-backed regime scrapped the constitution in 2009.

A visit in 2010 was cancelled after Fiji accused forum leaders of not taking dialogue seriously.