Foreign Minister Penny Wong says Australia will meet Vanuatu halfway and address any concerns in a security pact between the two nations.
Vanuatu’s new prime minister Sato Kilman said he believed the already signed pact would need to be reworked in order to get the support of his parliament.
While it has been signed, the agreement needs to be ratified by Vanuatu’s parliament before it can come into effect.
Senator Wong said Australia was open to further discussions after Kilman said both sides would need to revisit the agreement.
“We’re very open to engaging with the new government in Vanuatu,” Senator Wong told ABC Radio on Friday.
“If they have a different view about the way in which that agreement is structured or aspects of that agreement obviously, we’re very happy to discuss that.
“We will engage with them and take on board what it is that they want to change, if anything, in the agreement and we’ll work through that together.”
Senator Wong was in Fiji meeting with her Pacific Islands Forum counterparts.
Some Pacific nations have flagged an open European Union-style visa-free travel system around the region.
But Senator Wong said introducing such a system would take a lot of work.
“That would be a transformative approach to the region,” she said.
“What I would say is we understand the importance of engagement.”
She pointed to the increase in Australia’s labour mobility scheme to highlight the government’s commitment to boosting regional economies.
Senator Wong also flagged working further with Pacific island nations to combat the effects of climate change.
She announced Australia would fund climate finance experts in eight Pacific nations to better help governments access funds.
Smaller nations have raised concerns about how challenging it is to access finance from larger institutions.
“We hope that will enable the mobilisation of many millions of dollars for this region in additional climate finance from global sources,” Senator Wong said.
SOURCE: AAP/PACNEWS
