The US Secretary of State for East Asia said Washington is boosting diplomacy with New Zealand and Australia as it is striving for progress towards democracy in Fiji.

Kurt Campbell was responding to American Samoa's US Congressman, Faleomavaega Eni Hunkin, at the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia the Pacific and the Global Environment.

Faleomavaega said New Zealand and Australian policies towards Fiji have been counter-productive.

Radio NZ reports that Campbell said he understands the Congressman's plea for dialogue, adding that some progress was made at the UN General Assembly.

He said at a forum in New York with Pacific island leaders, US Secretary Hillary Clinton very graciously engaged the Foreign Minister and indicated that it is high on the American priority to figure out if there's a way that the US can be helpful in engaging diplomatically.

Campbell said the US is also stepping up its coordination and dialogue with New Zealand and Australia who the US believe have key critical interests in Fiji as a whole.

Kurt Campbell said the US wants to ensure the Fiji government keeps to its commitment to hold elections by 2014.


Story by: Vijay Narayan