Interim Finance Minister Mahendra Chaudhry said that Australia and New Zealand are pressuring the Asian Development Bank to withdraw relations with Fiji.

Chaudhry said he was told at a meeting in Madrid late last month, that the ADB has been pressurised to adopting its stance on Fiji by Australia and New Zealand and they are pretending to be wanting to help us but are effectively undermining our economy.

Chaudhry said he was surprised by the Political stance taken by the ADB in refusing to deal with Fiji and pointed out that in countries where coups had taken place like Thailand, Bangladesh and Pakistan, the Bank remained engaged with them and questioned why Fiji was being isolated.

The Interim Finance Minister stressed that in the last three coups, Fiji had never defaulted on its loan repayments despite its political problems and had always met our loan obligations by paying on time. Chaudhry called on the ADB to abandon its political stance and engage with Fiji.

Meanwhile, Australian High Commissioner to Fiji James Bately said only the Asian Development Bank can answer questions on why it has taken a certain stance.

ADB Regional Director Sirpa Javenpa's Office in Suva told Fijivillage that the SDB will release a statement on the matter later.