Senior ministers from Australia and Vanuatu have trooped to the top of an active volcano on the island of Tanna for a ceremony to celebrate a major new pact between the two countries.<\/p>\n
Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Pacific Minister Pat Conroy joined their counterparts from Vanuatu on the top of Mount Yasur to “initial” the landmark Nakamal Agreement ahead of formal signature by prime ministers next month.<\/p>\n
Australia is set to funnel some $500 million into Vanuatu over a decade under the pact, which will supplant a bilateral security agreement that was effectively scrapped by the Pacific nation after it was signed in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Pat Conroy, left, joined Andrew Napuat, Richard Marles, Johnny Koanapo, Penny Wong and Ralph Regenvanu. (ABC News: Lillyrose WelWel)<\/p>\n
While most of the details in the agreement are not yet public, Australia has labelled it “transformational”, and Mr Marles said it reflected the two nations had a “shared destiny”.<\/p>\n
“What this agreement really does is, for the first time, acknowledge what has always been the truth, and that is that as two nations, we are family, and that our future is very much bound together,” Mr Marles said.<\/p>\n
The Prime Minister of Vanuatu Jotham Napat declared the deal a “win-win” for both countries.<\/p>\n
“The agreement that has entered today will transpire into a lot of great benefits between the two countries, whether it be the security agreement, economic transformation, with some specific focus on the mobile labour mobility and financial support,” Mr Napat told journalists in Tanna.<\/p>\n
Half-a-billion-dollar pact between Australian and Vanuatu close to being signed<\/a><\/p>\n The Nakamal Agreement will cover infrastructure, climate change resilience and economic development but questions remain about what security and travel arrangements will be agreed to.<\/p>\n Under the agreement, Australia is expected to funnel funding into a host of areas<\/a>, including climate resilience, key infrastructure, security support, labour mobility and budget support.<\/p>\n There were some last-minute negotiations to secure an in-principle agreement ahead of the ministers’ arrival, with officials from Vanuatu telling the ABC that both sides had to make some late concessions in order to secure the pact.<\/p>\n Mr Marles would not be drawn on exactly what financial commitments Australia had made, but said the Nakamal Agreement “acknowledges our shared economic connection”.<\/p>\n He added it “makes clear that it is core business for Australia to be engaged in the human development of Vanuatu”.<\/p>\n It is also not clear if the arrangement will make it easier for Ni-Vanuatu to travel to Australia.<\/p>\n Visa-free travel still unclear\u00a0<\/p>\n Ahead of the agreement, Mr Napat declared he would not sign unless Australia agreed to introduce “visa-free” travel for his country’s citizens, an arrangement which Australia has never introduced for any Pacific island nations.<\/p>\n When asked whether Australia had offered any concessions on this front, Mr Napat said there would be an “agenda item” on visa-free travel in the Nakamal Agreement, but also suggested the subject was still being discussed \u2014 saying Australia “would get back to us on that”.<\/p>\n While Australia has not outlined its position publicly, the ABC has been told that while a “visa free” arrangement was not on the table, the government was willing to discuss liberalising broader travel requirements for citizens of Vanuatu.<\/p>\n Richard Marles met locals after a ceremonial event in Vanuatu on Wednesday. (ABC News: Lillyrose WelWel)<\/p>\n Griffith Asia Institute Adjunct Associate Professor Tess Newton Cain said the question around travel was a “real issue for the Vanuatu government and for the prime minister personally”.<\/p>\n “He has said that this is a ‘must have’ as far as he is concerned and he knows that if it doesn’t transpire, it will reflect badly on him,” Dr Cain told the ABC.<\/p>\n “Given the way Vanuatu politics goes, it could even trigger an attempt to replace him as PM.”<\/p>\n She also said other Pacific nations would be watching the discussions between Vanuatu and Australia closely.<\/p>\n “If, and it’s a big if, Australia does grant some degree of visa-free access, for example, for Vanuatu officials, it will be very significant because we would expect to see pressure from other Pacific island countries for the same,” she said.<\/p>\n Australian government officials received a cultural welcome on arriving in Vanuatu. (ABC News: Lillyrose WelWel)<\/p>\n Australia pushes back against China’s embed<\/p>\n The agreement comes as Australia pushes back against China’s efforts to embed itself as a major commercial and security partner for Vanuatu.<\/p>\n Vanuatu has leaned heavily on Chinese institutions to fund major infrastructure projects and Beijing recently gifted it a sprawling new presidential palace<\/a>, which was estimated to cost $31 million.<\/p>\n China’s police training teams have also been playing an increasingly visible role <\/a>in the Pacific island nation.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n