Fiji maintains an independent, but generally pro-Western, foreign policy. It has traditionally had close relations with its major trading partners Australia and New Zealand, although these relations cooled after both the 1987 and 2000 coups.
Since independence, Fiji has been a leader in the South Pacific region. Other Pacific Island governments have generally been sympathetic to Fiji's internal political problems and have declined to take public positions.
Fiji became the 127th member of the United Nations on October 13, 1970, and participates actively in the organization. Fiji's contributions to UN peacekeeping are unique for a nation of its size. It maintains nearly 1,000 soldiers overseas in UN peacekeeping missions, mainly in the Middle East.
Disputes - international: none