New Zealand’s relationship with the central Pacific Island nation of Kiribati has hit an all time low with the entire aid programme for the island country on hold while it’s reviewed because of a lack of “open dialogue”.
Also under the spotlight are seasonal workers and immigrants who come from Kiribati under the Pacific Access Scheme.
The dramatic moves comes after Kiribati President Taneti Maamau pulled out of a pre-arranged meeting with Foreign Minister Winston Peters last week.
Peters has repeatedly tried to meet with Maamau — who was also the Kiribati foreign minister — over the past year and had finally been given the green light for visit this month. On the agenda, would be a bilateral meeting with the president; the handover of a $25 million hospital upgrade completed under New Zealand aid; a state dinner; and a meeting with a cross-party group of MPs at Parliament.
However, 1News understands that with only days before departure the Kiribati Secretary of Foreign Affairs informed the New Zealand High Commission in Kiribati that the president was now “unavailable” and the vice president would stand in for him.
A top Government source told 1News that there was little point in going without the necessary top-level meeting with the president. Also, the last minute change after months of rebuffs was a diplomatic affront.
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson told 1News that reassurance was needed that taxpayers money — $102 million in aid for the period 2021 to 2024 — was being spent effectively and targeting the most pressing priorities.
“Those assurances require senior engagement with the Government of Kiribati, which has not been forthcoming.”
Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles who was in Kiribati the week before Peters was due to go, was also not on President Maamau’s list and was offered a meeting with Vice-President Teuea Toatu instead – which he accepted, unlike New Zealand.
Atoll nation increasingly isolated
Kiribati has been on a path of self-isolation from Western countries and many in the Pacific since switching diplomatic allegiances from Taiwan to China in 2019.
There have been repeated attempts by leaders to engage with the president. However, Nauru and Fiji were two exceptions with President Maamau arriving in Fiji today to meet with Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka.
Kiribati was at the centre of geopolitical competition because of its location in relation to Hawaii and a US base in the Marshall Islands along with its lucrative ocean resources over three and a half million square kilometres.
The terms of reference for the Kiribati aid review were currently being finalised and no decision would be made until the review was complete.
