KEY POINTS:
Prime Minister John Key will meet his Australian counterpart, Kevin Rudd, in Papua New Guinea this week to discuss each country's response to the economic downturn and what to do about Fiji.
Mr Key spoke to Mr Rudd for half an hour by phone yesterday to clarify whether
he would still be attending a Pacific Islands Forum leaders' meeting in Port Moresby tomorrow.
The pair are scheduled to have an official meeting there, but took the chance of yesterday's call to also discuss Mr Rudd's announcement of a $4 billion fund involving the Government and major banks to finance commercial property developments.
Mr Key said the bilateral meeting in PNG would largely focus on the issue at the leaders' gathering - Fiji's future within the forum.
Though their talks would touch on economic issues, a more substantial discussion on those would take place when Mr Rudd visited New Zealand late next month for a formal visit.
Mr Key will also have a one-on-one meeting in Moresby tomorrow with PNG Prime Minister Sir Michael Somare at which he is expected to discuss furthering the defence links between the two countries by providing training support for PNG's forces.
Mr Key said that as well as discussing Fiji, he would tell Sir Michael NZ remained committed to a 10-year aid programme set up under Helen Clark's Labour Government.
Mr Key will travel to PNG today with several other Pacific leaders and the media in an RNZAF Boeing 757.
It will be his first time at a meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum, a stage where Helen Clark built strong relationships with other leaders and had a reputation of being firm but fair.
Mr Key's own diplomatic skills were put to the test at the weekend as he tried to salvage the meeting from descending into a shambles after Sir Michael, as host, decided to postpone it without warning.
He told leaders it was being put off for two weeks so Fiji's interim Prime Minister, Frank Bainimarama, could attend. Mr Rudd then cancelled his travel plans, but other leaders - including Mr Key - spoke to Sir Michael and persuaded him to keep to the original date.
"I told him I didn't hold out much hope that even if it was delayed that Frank Bainimarama would turn up at a later date," Mr Key said.
Despite this quick action, the antics over the date of the PNG meeting could dent the credibility of the forum, and leaders will hope that any frustrations do not spill over into discussions on Fiji and imperil the unity of opinion they showed in Niue last August.
Yesterday, Mr Key tried to downplay the impact of the glitches in the build-up, saying they were "a little bit messy" but it was important not to allow them to derail the meeting.
He said he was pleased Mr Rudd had decided to attend.
"In my view it would be in the best interests of the forum for all members to attend, including Frank Bainimarama. Clearly Kevin Rudd is an important part of the mix and would lend a strong voice to the debate."
Sir Michael has settled for a compromise of holding the meeting as scheduled, with a promise that a group of the leaders will travel to Fiji on February 14 to discuss the outcome with Commodore Bainimarama.
Fiji will be represented at the meeting tomorrow by interim Attorney-General Aiyaz Saiyed-Khaiyum and a foreign affairs official.
Suva's Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Ratu Isoa Gavidi, was initially chosen to attend, but yesterday Commodore Bainimarama suspended him because of a comment he made to the media about the military leader's non-attendance.
Yesterday, Mr Saiyed-Khaiyum said he would provide "clarifications" to the Pacific leaders on the report prepared by the Ministerial Contact Group, which visited Fiji last month.