Prime Minister Christopher Luxon meets with Kiribati President Taneti Maamau during the Pacific Islands Forum in the Solomon Islands. Photo / Adam Pearse
The fate of New Zealand’s aid funding for Kiribati remains unclear as officials work to rebuild a relationship damaged by the island nation’s last-minute snub of Foreign Minister Winston Peters.
It comes after confirmation New Zealand will host the Pacific Islands Forum in 2027, seen as the pre-eminent annual meeting of Pacific leaders. It usually also includes representatives of other countries, such as China and the United States.
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon met late last night with Kiribati President Taneti Maamau on the sidelines of the current Pacific Islands Forum in the Solomon Islands.
In January, New Zealand put its aid for Kiribati under review after a scheduled trip for Peters to visit Kiribati was cancelled at the last minute, the hosts citing a “significant historical [sic] event” happening at the same time.
Peters didn’t accept the explanation: “It was the President who set the date, 21, 22 of January, now if he set the date then how can the pre-booked statement be correct?”
In March, Newsroom reported the Ministry of Foreign Affairs review had found the funding should not be cut but its exact findings remain unknown.
Media were able to capture an image of Luxon and Maamau but the leaders offered no opening remarks before journalists were ushered out of the room.
Ahead of his flight to the leaders’ retreat, Luxon told media he enjoyed meeting Maamau for the first time and said officials from both nations were working through the aid funding issue.
“Our officials will work that through in the next few weeks with a view that there might be an opportunity for minister Peters to catch up with the President [Maamau] in New York maybe.”
The pair are set to be in New York this month to attend the United Nations General Assembly.
New Zealand’s development co-operation with Kiribati totalled $102 million in the period 2021-2024, with investments in health, education, fisheries, economic development and climate resilience.
New Zealand is a significant contributor to Kiribati. It was the second-biggest contributor of aid to the country over the years 2008-2022, contributing 16% of all aid, according to data complied by Australia’s Lowy Institute.
However, China has been upping its presence and its spending in the region in recent years, after Kiribati switched its diplomatic recognition to Beijing in 2019. China was the largest spender in Kiribati in 2021 (New Zealand was third) and the third-largest in 2022 (New Zealand was fifth).
In addition to Kiribati, Luxon held another bilateral meeting with Palau President Surangel Whipps jnr.
Palau will host next year’s Pacific Islands Forum, while New Zealand will host in 2027 – a decision confirmed by the forum during yesterday’s meetings, which were closed to media.
The collection of Pacific leaders rose early this morning to take a “family photo” in front of an idyllic seaside backdrop at the Heritage Park Hotel in Honiara.
The leaders arrived one by one and engaged in casual chit-chat ahead of the photo, which had been originally scheduled for last night but was moved after prior events ran over time.
Much of the discussions included sleep reviews. Luxon told Papua New Guinea’s James Marape he had slept well. No such luck for Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka, who confessed to Luxon he had slept poorly.
The banter ratcheted up at the arrival of Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who Luxon immediately heckled for wearing the wrong shirt to last night’s dinner function.
The back-and-forth between Luxon and Albanese even continued as they sat posing for the photo.
Luxon, later speaking within earshot of a few Australian journalists, spoke with mock condemnation about Albanese’s “pink” shirt.
“We were there in our formal attire and I thought that was entirely inappropriate and I let him know.
“You’ve got to reiterate quite a lot to the Australians, what they need to be doing and the rules sometimes.”
Today’s retreat allowed the leaders to discuss regionally significant issues without the presence of officials.
Part of that discussion will be about how the forum includes non-Pacific countries, following the decision this year by the Solomon Islands to restrict attendance to forum members amid a stoush over Taiwan’s inclusion.
Luxon would spend most of the day at the retreat on the island of New Georgia before flying out later tonight.
Adam Pearse is the Deputy Political Editor and part of the NZ Herald’s Press Gallery team based at Parliament in Wellington. He has worked for NZME since 2018, reporting for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei and the Herald in Auckland.