Australia has relaxed a travel ban on members of Fiji's military-led regime to allow the first Fijian minister to visit Canberra since a 2006 coup on the South Pacific island nation created a deep diplomatic rift, AP reported. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said he had invited his Fijian counterpart, Ratu Inoke Kubuabola, to a trilateral meeting in Canberra on Wednesday to discuss restoring senior envoys to their posts in Australia, Fiji and New Zealand. New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully will also attend the meeting, which indicates a thaw in diplomatic relations that have been in tatters since Fiji's democratically elected government was overthrown by military commander Frank Bainimarama. Fiji has since expelled Australian and New Zealand top envoys, known as high commissioners. Australia and New Zealand retaliated by expelling Fijian high commissioners. Smith said he expected the meeting would start the process of restoring all diplomatic heads their former posts. Australia was not backing down from its view that Fiji must return to democracy, he said. But he added, «We've also always made the point that there's a need to have a dialogue.» Fiji's Foreign Ministry confirmed on Wednesday that Kubuabola was in Australia. He could not be immediately contacted for comment.
