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US to strengthen partnership with the Pacific

September 29, 2022 4:20 pm

The Pacific Islands Forum Family welcomes the opportunity provided by US-Pacific Summit in Washington DC to set the USA towards becoming the true Pacific partner it can become.

Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama says this will be a historic engagement between the Pacific Islands Forum and the United States.

Bainimarama says Pacific Island Leaders will secure and build a partnership that will support the realization of our leaders’ vision and ambitions as outlined in the 2050 Strategy.

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He adds the sessions will discuss and shape the region’s collective partnership with the United States government.

“We look forward to working with the US states to better integrate our economies, improve flows of trade, strengthen our education and links, improve two-way tourism and exchange and link our cultural institutions and better link our schools and community organizations. We also look forward to welcoming our Peace Corps volunteers back to Fiji.”

The US Secretary of States Antony Blinken says this summit is the latest effort by the Biden administration to hear directly from the Pacific Island leaders.

“What I hope that you take away from these engagements is that the United States shares your vision and we are committed to helping realize it. It’s a vision that recognizes that only by working together can we actually tackle the biggest challenges of our time that confront all of our citizens.”

Blinken has assured the Pacific leaders that they can count on the United States.

He adds that they are partnering with the Pacific Islands to deepen resilience across the board.