The Chairman of the Forum Fiji Joint working group has encouraged Fiji to remain engaged with them after the decision by the interim government to pull out of the talks.

In a statement Chairman of the Forum Fiji Joint Working Group Peter Eafeare said forum members regard the Working group as a valuable channel for dialogue between Officials, one they would be disappointed to close.

He stressed that all members are given equal opportunity to express their views at the Working Group meetings and the outcomes of the meetings are agreed upon by all members before it is released.

The decision for Fiji to pull out of the talks was made following the directive from Interim Prime Minister, Commodore Frank Bainimarama through the Interim AG who informed the Forum Working Group that the position of the group was similar to NZ and Australia's position.