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The Fiji government is testing New Zealand by nominating government spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Neumi Leweni as its representative in Wellington, says Fiji’s Land Force Commander Brigadier-General Pita Driti.
Last week, Fiji confirmed it had nominated Permanent Secretary for Information, Lieutenant Colonel Neumi Leweni, a senior military figure, to be counsellor at the Fiji High Commission in New Zealand.
The nomination came following a marked improvement in relations between the two countries who late last year engaged in tit-for-tat diplomatic expulsions after Fiji accused New Zealand and Australia of interfering in its judiciary.
New Zealand has in recent weeks said it wanted to resume diplomatic relations and dialogue with Fiji, indicating it wanted to send a high commissioner back to Fiji.
Driti has told Auckland’s Radio Tarana that sending Leweni won’t hurt anyone.
“We are just testing New Zealand’s genuity (sic) you know, in having to arrange certain names to see how far they can accommodate what we want and if they accept Leweni, it’s a great move,” he said.
The New Zealand government has yet to comment on the nomination.
New Zealand and Australia have placed travel bans on members of the Fiji government, the military and their families since 2006.
