The diplomat responsible for East Asian and Pacific affairs told the subcommittee of the US Senate Foreign Affairs Committee that the 170 islets
They are preparing to open new diplomatic missions in Tonga later this month, and in Kiribati and Vanuatu.
As he said, the 2024 fiscal budget is expected to provide an opportunity for this.
In the budget, the amount earmarked for diplomatic developments in the region is $533 million (180.6 billion forints), $1.36 billion has been requested for foreign aid, and another $2 billion will be spent to support the “Indo-Pacific Strategy”. United State.
last September Joe Biden The US President invited the leaders of the Pacific states to a regional summit. At the end of the unprecedented two-day event, 14 countries in the region signed a statement pledging to work together to tackle climate change and for peace in the region so that “democracy can flourish freely.”
After a 30-year hiatus, Washington reopened its embassy in the Solomon Islands in FebruaryAfter the Pacific nation seceded from Taiwan and established diplomatic relations with China in 2019, Kiribati quickly followed suit. In 2022, China signs a security agreement with the Solomon Islands.
Cover photo: Tonga. Source: Getty Images
