The Deputy Prime Minister of Fiji, Biman Prasad, has reiterated calls for visa-free travel between Australia as well as New Zealand and Pacific Island States, as part of efforts to further ease the travel process.
His comments came during a speech at the Pacific Update Conference held in Suva this week, VisaGuide.World reports.
Prasad said that Australia and New Zealand must be part of the Pacific story, according to a report in the Fiji Times.
In addition, Prasad considered that it should not be easier for nationals of Lithuania to enter Australia than Fijians as well as Latvians to travel to Aotearoa in New Zealand than for Solomon Islanders.
“The Blue Pacific must reach out into the world with a determination that is grounded in our history that is knitted into our cultural fabric and that reflects our identity,” Fiji’s Deputy Prime Minister noted.
He noted that there is no salami slice part of the Pacific family stressing that a unified Pacific-wide single market must include New Zealand as well as Australia. Prasad considered visa-free travel between their territories a starting point.
He went on to say that the Fijian and Pacific businesses should grow in Australia as well as the New Zealand markets, stressing that similar Australian and New Zealand businesses should be eligible to expand across the Pacific.
Prasad said that out of this the country will create large businesses that will be eligible to stand their ground better in a new geo-economic universe.
According to an ABC report, there will be no sugar-coating according to the head of the investigation into Vanuatu’s Golden Passport Program.
The scheme permits wealthy foreign internationals to acquire citizenship in this territory, provided they make a specific amount of money investment and meet the needed conditions.
However, the program has often been considered to be involved in unlawful affairs such as corruption and money laundering.
In this regard, Inquiry chairman Glen Craig noted that the investigation will scrutinize the various bodies involved in administering the scheme.
“They’ve asked us specifically to look at the Department of Finance, the Financial Investigation Unit, the Citizenship Commission itself, and also the Department of Immigration which issues passports,” he pointed out.
At present, citizens from a large number of countries need a visa in order to enter Fiji for different purposes, taking also into account trips for tourism purposes.
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