US, Pacific Island Nations' Leaders Agree On Declaration To Strengthen Relations - Blinken

US, Pacific Island Nations' Leaders Agree on Declaration to Strengthen Relations - Blinken

The United States and the Pacific Island nations have agreed on a declaration that will strengthen their partnership, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 28th September, 2022) The United States and the Pacific Island nations have agreed on a declaration that will strengthen their partnership, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday.

"I'm especially pleased as we start our conversations... that we have also come together around a declaration of partnership between the US and the Pacific, one that shows that we have a shared vision for the future and a determination to build that future together," Blinken said during opening remarks of his meeting with the leaders of Pacific Island nations. "So I'm very pleased that we have this today that we've agreed on it."

Blinken said that the declaration provides a roadmap for the work that the partnership will undertake in the future.

The United States will also provide $4.8 million to support marine livelihoods in the Pacific Islands region, such as fisheries and aquaculture tourism, Blinken added.

The Biden administration is hosting the Pacific Island nations' leaders in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday for a summit designed to enhance US engagement with the region in areas of trade and security.

Attending the first-ever summit are the leaders of Fiji, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and New Caledonia. Vanuatu and Nauru are not sending representatives to the summit. Australia, New Zealand, and the Secretary General of the Pacific Island Forum will be present as observers.