Fiji has experienced many coups recently,in 1987,2000,and 2006. Fiji has been suspended various times from the Commonwealth of Nations,a grouping of mostly former British colonies. It was readmitted to the Commonwealth in December 2001,following the parliamentary election held to restore democracy in September that year,and has been suspended again because of the 2006 coup,but has been readmitted a second time after the 2014 election. Other Pacific Island governments have generally been sympathetic to Fiji's internal political problems and have declined to take public positions.
Fiji,officially the Republic of Fiji,is an island country in Melanesia,part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about 1,100 nautical miles north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about 110 are permanently inhabited—and more than 500 islets,amounting to a total land area of about 18,300 square kilometres (7,100 sq mi). The most outlying island group is Ono-i-Lau. About 87% of the total population of 924,610 live on the two major islands,Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. About three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levu's coasts,either in the capital city of Suva,or in smaller urban centres such as Nadi or Lautoka. The interior of Viti Levu is sparsely inhabited because of its terrain.
The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation among countries and territories of Oceania,including formation of a trade bloc and regional peacekeeping operations. It was founded in 1971 as the South Pacific Forum (SPF),and changed its name in 1999 to "Pacific Islands Forum",so as to be more inclusive of the Forum's Oceania-spanning membership of both north and south Pacific island countries,including Australia. It is a United Nations General Assembly observer.
Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama is a Fijian former politician and naval officer who served as the prime minister of Fiji from 2007 until 2022. A member of the FijiFirst party,which he founded in 2014,he began his career as an officer in the Fijian navy and commander of the Fijian military. Despite being suspended from Parliament,he served as the opposition leader from 24 December 2022 until 8 March 2023,when he resigned and was replaced by Inia Seruiratu.
Sir Timoci Uluiburotu Tuivaga was a Fijian judge,who was Chief Justice from 31 March 1980 to 31 July 2002,when he retired. He was Fiji's first native-born Chief Justice.
SusugaTuilaʻepa Lupesoliai Neioti Aiono Saʻilele Malielegaoi is a Samoan politician and economist who served as the sixth prime minister of Samoa from 1998 to 2021. Tuilaʻepa is Samoa's longest serving prime minister and was leader of the opposition from 2021 to 2022. Since 1998,he has led the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP). Tuilaʻepa first entered parliament in 1981 when he won a by-election to represent the electorate of Lepā. He also served as deputy prime minister and minister of finance in the government of Prime Minister Tofilau Eti Alesana,and also held the portfolios of Tourism and Trade,Commerce &Industry.
The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) is an intergovernmental organization,composed of the four Melanesian states of Fiji,Papua New Guinea,Solomon Islands and Vanuatu,and the Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front of New Caledonia. In June 2015,Indonesia was recognized as an associate member.
The bilateral relations between the Fiji and the United States have improved significantly since Fiji's elections in September 2014,which restored a democratically elected government to Fiji for the first time since 2006. The United States had opposed Fiji's unelected government,which came to power through a military coup in December 2006.
Fiji –New Zealand relations refers to foreign relations between New Zealand and Fiji. Relations between these two Pacific countries were previously amicable,and New Zealand has long been a significant development aid partner and economic partner for Fiji.
Fiji–Tonga relations are foreign relations between Fiji and Tonga. These neighbouring countries in the South Pacific have a history of bilateral relations going back several centuries.
Gregory Lawrence Urwin PSM CSI was an Australian career diplomat and top Pacific specialist. Urwin held the post of Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum,an important inter-governmental regional organisation from 2004 until 2 May 2008. Urwin had been the longest serving Australian diplomat in the Pacific at the time of his death in 2008. Urwin was also the first non-Pacific Islander to become Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum.
The Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat is the chief executive officer of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS). The Secretariat is based in Suva,Fiji.
Feleti Penitala Teo is a Tuvaluan politician and lawyer who is currently serving as the 14th Prime Minister of Tuvalu. He was elected to the Parliament of Tuvalu in the 2024 Tuvaluan general election,with his previous role being the executive director of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC).
Fiji established its Permanent Mission to the United Nations on 13 October 1970,three days after obtaining its independence from the United Kingdom. Since then,Fiji's participation in the United Nations has been notable primarily for its active role in UN peacekeeping operations,which began in 1978.
The Republic of the Fiji Islands was the first Pacific Island country to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China,in 1975. China established an embassy in Fiji in 1976,and Fiji opened its embassy in China in 2001.
In April 2009,Fiji underwent a constitutional crisis when the Court of Appeal ruled that the 2006 Fijian coup d'état had been illegal. The Court dismissed the Interim Cabinet led by Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama that had governed Fiji since the coup. However,President Josefa Iloilo announced on a nationwide radio broadcast that he was abrogating the Constitution. He dismissed all judges and constitutional appointees,and reinstated Bainimarama and his cabinet. He also instituted emergency rule which increased police powers and allowed media censorship.
The Polynesian Leaders Group (PLG) is an international governmental cooperation group bringing together four independent countries and eight self-governing territories in Polynesia.
The Majuro Declaration is an initiative of the Pacific Islands Forum,which was signed on 5 September 2013 at Majuro in the Marshall Islands during the 44th Pacific Islands Forum summit. At the summit the leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum nations recognised the need for strengthened national systems to plan for,access,deliver,absorb and monitor climate change and for donor countries to continue to simplify and harmonise their assessment,implementation and reporting processes for financing projects directed to climate change adaptation,mitigation and risk reduction.
Fiji–Tuvalu relations are diplomatic and other relations between Fiji and Tuvalu.
The 45th Pacific Islands Forum was held from 29 July to 1 August 2014 in Palau. The forum's official opening was held in the capital Ngerulmud,in Melekeok State,but the majority of events were held in Koror,Palau's largest city and former capital. The official theme of the meeting was "The Ocean:Life &Future". Topics under discussion include climate change,commercial fishing,non-communicable diseases and the possibility of readmitting Fiji to the forum.
