No specific port project identified, says Fiji’s Foreign Minister, day after Quad Foreign Ministers pledge assistance

A day after the group announced at the 11th Quad Foreign Ministers meeting in New Delhi that it would build port infrastructure on the Pacific island of Fiji, Fijian Foreign Minister Sakiasi Ditoka said no relevant port projects were currently “agreed” on, but Fiji was in talks with the US’ Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Convention regarding port infrastructure.

In response to questions HinduIn a written response, Mr Ditoka said Fiji’s approach to developing its infrastructure was driven by plans to create better facilities that would support its business objectives.

“No specific port project has been identified or agreed upon at this stage. The process is at the Root Cause Analysis stage, which will then be transferred to the Concept Notes and potentially subject to further detailed feasibility and design study depending on the agreement,” Mr. Ditoka said, noting that a port project declaration made by Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio requires a significant amount of paperwork to be implemented.

After the issue was announced in a joint press release by Ms Wong and Mr Rubio on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, the Joint Statement issued at the end of the ministerial meeting included the issue in the list of outcomes, saying: “…We are proud to announce that the Quad countries will work in coordination with the Government of Fiji to develop port infrastructure and related activities in the country”.

The announcement on the development of the Fijian port at the Quadrilateral Foreign Ministers meeting highlighted China’s wide-ranging relations with several southwestern Pacific island countries, most notably Fiji, which this year will mark the fifty-first anniversary of diplomatic relations with China.

Chinese Ambassador to Fiji Zhou Jian said his country will become Fiji’s third largest trading partner by 2025. Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka’s government has expanded talks on Chinese infrastructure investment in Fiji’s major islands, and China has recently developed at least twenty projects in Fiji. Fiji maintained its “One China” policy, which helped improve relations with Beijing.

Referring to the Quad initiative to build port infrastructure in Fiji, Foreign Minister Ditoka said: Hindu He said that the side evaluated the infrastructure proposal through the “Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact development process framework”, a US grant-based development assistance mechanism.

On March 2, the US State Department announced that Fiji would receive a $12 million grant from MCC for feasibility studies of projects before further evaluation. Referring to this, Minister of Foreign Affairs Ditoka said, “The focus areas determined after the initial analysis and consultations are ports and the business regulatory environment.”