The Pacific rarely attracts attention from The Economist so two articles in as many weeks is noteworthy.

The 20 July issue covered the ten year anniversary of RAMSI in the Solomons with the opening line ‘Not all foreign adventures are doomed to fail’,  while the following week it provided its take on Australia asylym-seeker deal with PNG.

Meanwhile, Jo Chandler considers the Australia-PNG asylum-seeker deal from a PNG perspective in the Global Mail:

Around the Pacific

The Age reports that ANZ Bank is still looking for a replacement for the Alex Thursby, ‘architect of its Asian banking strategy’ (of which PNG and the Pacific Islands form part).

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PNG’s cocoa is already admired by those in the know, now the Solomons might be getting in on the act. Radio Australia interviews a kiwi entrepreneur with plans to make gourmet chocolate in Honiara.

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The China Post analyses Fiji’s shifting foreign policy in a piece entitled ‘Is Russia fast becoming another BRIC in Fiji’s wall with the West?’

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A new report from the Asian Development Bank urges Tonga to speed up reform to kick-start its sluggish economy.