$35m Ocean of Peace Centre for Suva

A new FJ$35 million Ocean of Peace Centre will be built in Suva, after Prime Ministers Sitiveni Rabuka and Anthony Albanese signed the Vuvale Union and Ocean of Peace Alliance yesterday.

This will give the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) a base to help members act on Fiji's Ocean of Peace Declaration.

The two agreements, Mr Rabuka said, are anchored on three pillars, with the treaties providing "deeper security cooperation, enhanced economic integration and resilience, and strengthened people-to-people connection."

The Vuvale Union is backed by more than FJ$1.5 billion over a decade, including FJ$284 million to fight drugs and transnational crime, FJ$158 million for health including the HIV response and a new national hospital, and FJ$228 million in grants for ports and flood works.

Fijians will also be able to apply for four-month visitor visas, with business travellers eligible for five-year, multiple-entry visas.

The Ocean of Peace Alliance, Fiji's first such pact and Australia's fourth, creates a mutual defence obligation, with Mr Albanese saying "there's no higher obligation than to come to each other's aid."