A delegation of Cambodian government officials have arrived on the South Pacific island of Nauru for high-level meetings with Australian and Nauruan officials about refugee resettlement.

Refugee Action Coalition spokesman Ian Rintoul, who is in touch with refugees held on the island, said the Cambodians arrived yesterday but there had been no formal announcement made about the secretive talks.

A government official close to the matter said that Ken Sarin, director of the refugee office at the Ministry of Interior, is part of the Cambodian delegation.

Fairfax Media reported yesterday that Lieutenant General Angus Campbell, who heads Australia’s Operation Sovereign Borders, would also be taking part in discussions about the bilateral refugee resettlement scheme inked in September.

But a spokesman for Australian Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said it would be “inappropriate to comment on ongoing discussions between governments on this matter”.