Australia and Vanuatu accept the security and corporate agreement of $ 328 million

Australia and Vanuatu have accepted a 10 -year agreement, aimed at strengthening security and economic ties, worth $ 500 million ($ 328 million; 241 million pounds sterling).

The so -called Nakamal Agreement – The result of months of negotiations – will transform Australia’s relations with his neighbor of the Pacific, the leaders of the two countries said on Wednesday.

“We are a family,” said Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, adding: “Our future is very linked together”. Vanuatu chief Jotham Napat described the agreement as a “win-win situation” for the two nations.

The agreement, which will be officially signed in September, comes when Australia is trying to develop its influence in the region, to counter the expenses and increased power of China.

Although the Australian government has not provided additional details on the agreement, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reports that it will provide funds to build two major data centers in the capital, Port Vila and the largest island of Vanuatu, Santo.

Millions of people will also be paid to help the Low Island to face the impacts of climate change, as well as to strengthen its safety.

In the previous stages of negotiations, travel without visa for the citizens of Vanuatu were also discussed and considered as a key element of the agreement. However, Napat told the media on Wednesday that this question would be covered by a “subsidiary” agreement to be confirmed.

We do not know what, if necessary, the commitments that Vanuatu gave in Australia as part of the agreement.

A similar agreement failed in 2022, after the previous Prime Minister of Vanuatu withdrew at the last minute for security problems, according to the ABC.

During a press conference on the side of a volcano on the island of Tanna, one of the 80 plus in the Vanuatu archipelago, Marles underlined the “shared destiny” of the two countries.

“(The agreement) recognizes that as neighbors, we have a shared security environment and a commitment to each other,” he said.

The Australian Foreign Minister added that the agreement was about the long -term future.

“The most important thing (about the agreement) is the place where we will be (in) three and five years and ten years,” said Penny Wong.

Vanuatu Prime Minister Napat said that the agreement would bring “many advantages between the two countries, whether it is the security agreement, economic transformation, with a specific emphasis on mobility of mobile labor and financial support”.

This week’s vanuatu agreement comes after Australia has signed similar pacts with several of its other Pacific neighbors in recent months.

Canberra concluded a new security agreement of $ 190 million with the Salomon Islands last December, with similar agreements also in place with Tuvalu and Papua-Nouvelle-Guinée.