On July 12, Vice President Harris will virtually attend the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting at the invitation of Forum Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama of Fiji. As part of this engagement with Forum Leaders, the Vice President will announce new commitments to deepen the US partnership with the region and deliver concrete results to Pacific people. These actions call for further efforts by the Biden-Harris administration to strengthen the US-Pacific Partnership and support Pacific regionalism, with a strong and united Pacific Islands Forum at its center. This milestone reflects the robust and growing commitment of the United States to the Pacific Islands region. It follows President Biden’s appointment of a special Presidential Envoy for Compact Negotiations and the launch of partners in the Blue Pacific, a new coordination initiative between the US, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the UK to more effectively support Pacific priorities. . It also builds on five decades of close collaboration with the Pacific Islands Forum, including as a founding dialogue partner; $ 350 million in annual U.S. aid to the Pacific; and deep people-to-people relationships, including among the 1.4 million Pacific Islanders living across the United States. With this foundation, the Vice President announces the following actions. The Biden-Harris Administration will:
