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Tongan businesses damaged by November's riots in Nuku'alofa are being offered up to $2 million in a reconstruction package from New Zealand.
But the Government is not providing additional aid for the package of loan subsidies for up to two years, credit guarantees and business advice; instead, the money will come from reprioritising New Zealand's existing $10.1 million annual aid budget for Tonga.
Prime Minister Helen Clark announced the package yesterday after her first face-to-face meeting with Tonga's Prime Minister, Feleti Sevele, in talks which included discussion of democracy.
New Zealand provided $500,000 of assistance to Tonga immediately after the riots that left six dead and in which much of Tonga's capital was looted and burned.
