Nadi (Fiji) (AFP) - Fiji's prime minister failed to appear Saturday for the visit of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, leaving questions about his health to fester after going to Australia in January for cardiac surgery.
Frank Bainimarama, who has held power since a coup in 2000, was originally on Washington's schedule for a meeting with Blinken, the first secretary of state to visit the Pacific island nation in 37 years.
On a visit to underscore US commitment to the Pacific islands region, Blinken met instead with Fiji Acting Prime Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum.
Bainimarama, 67, is believed to be still recuperating in Melbourne, but no pictures of him have been released since his surgery was announced in mid-January.
The longest-serving leader in the Pacific Islands, he led a military government in 2000 and was installed as prime minister in 2007.
Bainimarama eventually won democratic elections in 2014 and 2018 and is expected to face reelection this year.
Blinken's visit was meant to highlight Washington's revived interest in the Pacific Island region, where, together with Australia, it wants to fend off strategic rival China's push to build footholds.
