Fiji, July 30 -- Vanuatu's Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and External Trade, Marc Ati, has appointed former Prime Minister Joe Natuman as the Special Envoy of Vanuatu for Maritime Boundary and Decolonisation Issues.

The appointment comes as Vanuatu continues to pursue unresolved maritime boundary and decolonisation issues, including its longstanding dispute with France over the uninhabited islands of Umaenupne (Matthew) and Umaeneag (Hunter).

For decades, efforts to finalise a maritime boundary between Vanuatu and New Caledonia have been blocked by the sovereignty dispute over the two volcanic islands, located east of New Caledonia and southeast of Vanuatu.

Conflicting claims over Matthew and Hunter date back t...