Prime Minister Christopher Luxon sat down with his Fijian counterpart Sitiveni Rabuka on Thursday to talk trade, visas and regional security.
Luxon's first Pacific Island trip comes as the region grapples with increased military competition between the likes of China and the US.
He met paw patrol, AKA the sniffer dogs, on the frontline of Fiji’s crackdown on the drug trade.
Crime is just one of the many challenges facing this part of the world, plus there's the threat of climate change and choppy geopolitical waters – as China and the US ramp up their presence in the region in competition with each other.
"We talked about geostrategic competition from multiple powers," said Luxon.
He met with two influential members of the Pacific family - new Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General Baron Waqa and Fiji's PM Sitiveni Rabuka.
Rabuka has called for the Pacific to be an ocean of peace amid those great power tensions and the emergence of AUKUS – a military pact between Australia, the UK and US.
Part of that pact involves nuclear-powered submarines. Luxon isn't interested in that, but he does have his eyes on Pillar 2 regarding advanced technologies.
"Certainly our officials will start that conversation with the AUKUS countries and that alliance agreement," he told reporters.
But when Newshub asked Prime Minister Rabuka about it, he appeared unsure of exactly what it was - and even briefly expressed support.
"Any development in that area will also benefit us," he replied.
Prime Minister Rabuka's office told Newshub afterwards that he may have had difficulty understanding the AUKUS acronym, causing the confusion.
He also made the point earlier that Fiji supports the demilitarisation of the Pacific.
His chief foreign affairs adviser, Dr Lesikimacuata Korovavala, told Newshub that Fiji's position on security cooperation including AUKUS is guided by the "principles of respect for the sovereignty of nations" as well as "non-interference in the domestic issues of nations, among others".
"Fiji has welcomed the transparency with which the parties to the AUKUS partnership have shared information with Pacific islands countries, especially to Fiji," Dr Korovavala said.
He told Newshub that Australia shared information to Pacific Islands Forum members about AUKUS in 2023, which Fiji welcomed.
"We also recognise the difference between being nuclear powered as compared to nuclear armed," he added.
While there may have been uncertainty around AUKUS, one thing PM Rabuka was clear on was his gratitude for the New Zealand Government, announcing it will remove visa requirements for Fijians transiting through NZ.
But it doesn't go as far as Fiji would like – they want Fijian visitors to NZ to be able to apply for a visa on arrival.
"That has also got some complexity to it as we think about the broader immigration settings in NZ but we are committed to reviewing that situation," said Luxon.
