Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka says New Zealand currently receives the “lion’s share” of trade between the countries - something he wants to change, while also looking at joining a regionwide free trade agreement.

Rabuka’s comments came during his visit to Wellington on Wednesday. He was the first foreign leader hosted in New Zealand by Prime Minister Chris Hipkins.

It was not, however, Rabuka’s first visit while serving as a Prime Minister of Fiji, after visiting in 1998 while leading a different government.

Regional security - amid increasing tensions between China and the United States, trade and climate change dominated talks between the two leaders, who had also met recently in Papua New Guinea on the sidelines of the United States-Pacific Summit.

On a wintry Wellington day, Rabuka joked he was “not very happy that global warming has not come this far”.

On a more serious note, he acknowledged the more than $20 million in climate change-related funding New Zealand had provided Fiji so far, some of which was already being used to help relocate two villages due to rising sea levels. New Zealand on Wednesday announced another $1.1m in climate change funding.

But it was increasing trade between the countries, particularly on Fiji’s end, that Rabuka spent much of his airtime addressing.

Fiji aims to increase two-way trade between the countries to $2 billion, up from $1.17b (based on 2018 figures).

Most of Fiji’s trade with New Zealand is in tourism and services, including seasonal workers. When it comes to goods, there exists a huge trade imbalance between the countries. In 2021, New Zealand exported $381m in goods to Fji, while Fiji sent $78m in goods in return.

The imbalance has been reducing in recent years, however, that has also been impacted by Covid-19.

Rabuka said the pandemic had greatly affected their economy, especially with tourism evaporating, but recent forecasts were positive.

He said they wanted to expand away from tourism and increase exports to New Zealand. A recent trade mission here had identified over $1 billion in export opportunities, he said.

“You enjoy the lion’s share of the benefit. We came to work harder to boost our own export capacity to New Zealand.”

Rabuka was the instigator of two military coups in 1987, before being democratically elected prime minister in 1992, serving until 1999, and then again in 2002.

In December he was elected again and managed to successfully oust Frank Bainimarama after 16 years of rule.

He said the Duavata Partnership agreement, signed last year, signified a new level strategic co-operation that will not only include trade and investment, but also labour movement, mobility, defence, climate change and humanitarian relief and disaster responses.

To boost trade, he said they were seeking New Zealand assistance in improving our “ease of doing business programmes”.

The country was also reviewing the Pacer Plus regional economic framework, which includes Australia and New Zealand but which Fiji had not signed up to, previously citing an imbalance in favour of the larger, more-developed economies.

Rabuka said any decisions on joining that agreement needed to be based on a “thorough understanding of its potential impact on Fiji and its people.

“In that regard, we do undertake an internal review with our stakeholders, including our business community.”

On security and geopolitical tensions, Rabuka said the region had “attracted a lot of attention lately”.

He noted the recent meetings in Papua New Guinea, attended by India and the United States which gave a “clear indication of the importance our partners play on this issue in the Pacific”.

He said while diplomacy continued they could address any concerns about militarisation.

Hipkins said in their bilateral meeting the pair had addressed strengthening regional institutions, as well as economic and security matters.

“We had an inspired discussion on how we can further cooperate on combating the effects of climate change.

“It’s clear it remains the single greatest threat to lives and livelihoods in the Pacific region.

“Many New Zealanders have experienced first-hand through Cyclone Gabrielle the devastation it causes communities, and this additional funding will assist Fiji to deliver community-based climate adaptation and mitigation projects.”

Rabuka said the extra funding would help with projects in renewable energy, infrastructure resilience and climate policy.