Australian PM’s Trip To Vanuatu Described As ‘Great Start’
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s bilateral meeting with his Vanuatu counterpart Charlot Salwai has been described as a “great start” to developing greater co-operation between the two countries.
The two men, in a joint statement, reaffirmed the strong, enduring and multifaceted relationship between the two countries. Issues including security as well as economic and human development were key areas of focus. Mr Morrison’s government renewed its focus on the Pacific as part of its ‘step-up’ programme and his Vanuatu visit was seen as part of a personal charm offensive.
“When you step up, you have to show up,” quipped Mr Morrison to media. The Vanuatu Daily Post’s editor Dan McGarry reported that Foreign Minister, Ralph Regenvanu, described the meeting between the two leaders as a “great start”.
“The word he used was ‘intimate’ scenario. In other words it meant that they could interact as peers, as human beings,” he said.
“And the evidence of that was quite clear yesterday. Charlot Salwai is normally a very reserved and sometimes even grave individual but he was visibly animated, ebullient even.” According to Mr McGarry, the mood of the Vanuatu PM prompted a spontaneous request of his Australian counterpart which could provide an unexpected boon for local kava exporters. Mr McGarry reported the two prime ministers have agreed to lifting restrictions on kava exports from Vanuatu. The action was prompted by a spontaneous request from prime minister Charlot Salwai, said Mr McGarry. It may be the only economic deliverable arising from the visit.
Kava exports to Australia are currently restricted to personal use with a customs limit of two kilograms of dried kava per person. The mild narcotic is Vanuatu’s third largest export commodity bringing in AU$10 million (FJ$15.24m) a year.
Australia’s lifting of kava import restrictions came as a surprise for officials from both countries, said Dan McGarry.
“[Charlot Salwai] completely spontaneously raised the issue in a one-onone meeting with Scott Morrison and to everyone’s surprise Scott Morrison responded quite positively,” said Mr McGarry.