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The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern, and the Premier of the tiny Pacific island of Niue, Dalton Tagelagi, have announced next steps towards quarantine-free travel between the two countries.
Negotiations on the text of an ‘Arrangement to Facilitate Quarantine-Free Travel between Niue and New Zealand’ have concluded and both Cabinets have agreed to its signature.
“We welcome progress towards the recommencement of two-way travel between Niue and New Zealand,” said Tagelagi.
The arrangement outlines the health and border requirements that each country must meet in order to recommence quarantine-free travel, and provides further detail on the implementation, including border and travel protocols.
“Niue has successfully remained Covid-19 free throughout 2020, and this next step is a testament to all of our hard work to protect ourselves and the Pacific,” Ardern stated.
According to an official statement, in recognition of Niue’s virus-free status, the two leaders have also agreed that officials will progress discussions to enable one-way quarantine-free travel from Niue to New Zealand.
This is to enable improved access for essential travel and to support Niue’s economic recovery.
“Both countries will now develop in further detail the practical measures needed to safely recommence both one and two-way quarantine-free travel,” the statement said.
Niue has less than 1,500 residents, who have dual citizenship as a self-governing nation in free association with New Zealand.
It is a coral atoll in the centre of a triangle of Polynesian islands made up of Tonga, Samoa and the Cook Islands. It is located 2,400km north-east of New Zealand.
A similar travel arrangement was recently agreed with the Cook Islands to recommence two-way quarantine-free travel in the first quarter of 2021.
The Cook Islands, located 3,200km from New Zealand, has also remained Covid-free during the pandemic. It is a volcanic archipelago of 15 islands in the South Pacific and has a population of around 17,000 people.
“This arrangement is the next step towards resuming many aspects of life in the Cook Islands that have been disrupted by Covid-19, including access to health and education, and reuniting family and friends,” Cook Islands Prime Minister, Mark Brown, said at the time of the announcement.