Penny Wong’s Pacific tour set to strengthen regional partnership and development

Australia’s Foreign Minister Senator Penny Wong is visiting the Pacific this week to strengthen bilateral partnerships, support regional development, and prepare for high-level talks with her New Zealand counterpart Vaovasamanaia Winston Peters.

Fresh off Labor’s election victory, Wong will visit Fiji, Tonga, and Vanuatu to focus on improving Australia’s relationship with the Pacific region.

In Fiji, she will meet with Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka to discuss strengthening their Vuvale Partnership, which was signed in 2019. The agreement prioritises closer cooperation and consultation between the two nations.

Wong last visited the Pacific in August 2024 when she attended the Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting in Suva.

She also travelled to Tuvalu May last year, where she announced Australia’s investment of almost A$110 million (NZ$120m) in response to immediate priorities.

This included A$54m (NZ$54m) for Tuvalu’s first undersea telecommunications cable, A$19m (NZ$20m) to extend the Tuvalu Coastal Adaptation Project, and A$15m (NZ$16m) for a new National Security Coordination Centre.

These commitments were renewed in 2023 in Canberra by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Rabuka.

After visiting Fiji, Wong will travel to Tonga to meet with Prime Minister Dr ‘Aisake Eke. She is also scheduled to meet with Crown Prince Tupouto’a ‘Ulukalala, who is also the Defence Minister.

Eke currently chairs the Pacific Islands Forum, a position the Kingdom has not held for almost two decades.

Prime Minister of Tonga, Dr 'Aisake Eke. Photo/PMN News/Joseph Safiti

The upcoming Forum Leaders’ Meeting is set to take place in the Solomon Islands in September.

Wong’s final stop on this Pacific trip will be in Vanuatu, where she will meet with Prime Minister Jotham Napat and senior government ministers. During this visit, she will reaffirm Australia’s commitment to enhancing its bilateral relationship through the development of the Nakamal Agreement.

This will be the first visit following the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck Vanuatu last December.

Watch Wong speak to press in Tonga

Australia had previously deployed an immediate response package worth A$2m (NZ$2.1m), which included a 64-person Disaster Assistance Response Team for urban search and rescue operations.

Peters recently completed his own Pacific tour, visiting Tonga, Hawaii, Fiji, and Vanuatu. Later this week, Peters will travel to Adelaide for the six-monthly Australia-New Zealand Foreign Ministers’ Consultation with Wong.

Wong meets with Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka. Photo/Penny Wong Facebook

Australia has recently launched the world’s first UN Police Peacekeeping Training course designed specifically for the Pacific region.

The five-week program, run by the Australian Federal Police (AFP), is taking place at the state-of-the-art Pacific Policing Development and Coordination Hub in Pinkenba, Brisbane.

Described by the AFP as “a landmark step,” the initiative was developed in partnership with the United Nations and brings together 100 police officers for specialist training.

Participating countries include Samoa, Kiribati, Fiji, Timor-Leste, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Tonga, Tuvalu, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Nauru.