Aust to allow kava imports to bolster Pacific ties
SYDNEY: Australia will allow imports of the intoxicating drink kava, prime minister Scott Morrison said yesterday, as it seeks to forge closer ties with its Pacific neighbours amid growing Chinese interest in the region. Australia and China have been vying for influence in sparsely-populated Pacific island countries that control vast swathes of resource-rich ocean.
Vanuatu last year signed up to China’s ‘belt and road’ initiative, just a few months after Australia promised to bolster its cyber-security capability.
To improve cultural ties, Morrison told reporters in the Vanuatu capital of Port Vila that Australia would remove restrictions on kava, a mildly intoxicating brew that is deeply embedded in the social fabric of Pacific islanders.
Imports will begin with a pilot program, he said.
Kava — once the drink of chiefs and spiritual leader — is the Pacific’s favorite tipple and a major export for Vanuatu.
– BBC
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