Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has confirmed the Vuvale Union and Ocean of Peace Alliance (Veitacini Treaty), signed with Australia on 06 July, will return to Parliament for ratification before they take effect.
Speaking Wednesday, Rabuka said both agreements must first be ratified by the Fijian and Australian parliaments.
“It will go through the process and be brought back to Parliament in the next sitting,” Rabuka said.
With Parliament sitting this week, he said the treaties could be tabled as early as Thursday or Friday. However, the Government preferred to “take it through the normal process” rather than rush them through the current sitting.
Rabuka also welcomed New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon’s confirmation that Wellington would hold formal talks with Fiji and Australia before deciding whether to join the agreement.
“Yes, it’s a very, very welcome development and we look forward to finalising, ratifying it and then opening it up for other Pacific nations,” he said.
Asked whether he hoped other Pacific Island countries would join, Rabuka replied: “Yes, we are because it’s in harmony with all our aspirations.”
Under Article 12 of the treaty, other Pacific countries may join with the unanimous consent of existing members.
The treaty is designed to give practical effect to the Blue Pacific Ocean of Peace Declaration, a concept Rabuka first proposed at the 2023 Pacific Islands Forum.
The declaration calls for Pacific nations to address climate change, geopolitics and regional security through talanoa and consensus, rather than coercion or militarism, under a “friends to all, enemies to none” approach.
Pacific leaders formally endorsed the declaration in 2025.
