Results for Foreign Affairs

Ambassadors to Tonga are presenting their credentials to HM King Tupou VI at the Royal Palace in Nuku'alofa this week during Diplomatic Week.

American, Dean Jay Fletcher (54) who is wanted in Tonga on the charge of brutally murdering his wife in July 2016 has been ordered released in Hawaii, after the United States District Court on November 1 ordered the dismissal of his extradition. The Tonga Government sought Fletcher's extraditon for the offenses of murder, manslughter, and inflicting grievous bodily harm. However, the US Secretary of State had "determined that Fletcher could not be guaranteed a fair trial in Tonga" because he did not have funds to defend himself.

Ordinary Tongan passports are in short supply due to unexpected increase in demand, which is causing delays in issuing some passports. Non-urgent applicants have been told the new stock is not expected until October.

The United States Government is still considering the extradition of Dean Jay Fletcher, an American citizen who escaped police custody in Vava’u last year after being charged with the murder of his wife on their yacht Sea Oak.

Princess Angelika Lātūfuipeka Tuku’aho presented her diplomatic credentials to the Governor General of Papua New Guinea, Mr Bob Dadae, KStJ, in Port Moresby on Tuesday. She is the High Commissioner of Tonga to Papua New Guinea in addition to her duties as High Commissioner of Tonga to Australia.

Methamphetamine, criminal deportees and outlaw motorcycle gangs are the three main threats in policing the Pacific Region according to a 2016 Transnational Organised Crime Assessment. While some 35 criminal deportees are returned to Tonga every year, Tonga Police revealed today that it is the gravity of their reoffending that concerns law enforcement because some criminal deportees have killed again.

On Commonwealth Day today, March 13, Queen Elizabeth II spoke of a peace-building Commonwealth and the importance of respect and "defending the dignity of every individual and community."

Diplomatic Relations between the Kingdom of Tonga and the People’s Republic of China are warm and vibrant, Tonga's Prime Minister Hon. ‘Akilisi Pohiva along with the Speaker of the Tongan Parliament Lord Tu’ivakano, reassured a Chinese National People’s Congress delegation visiting Nuku’alofa this week.

The Tonga-China Student Alumni Association was formally launched by Prince Ata on December 21 at the Kahana Restaurant in Nuku'alofa, with a dinner for Tongan alumni who studied in China.