US, four others launch initiative aimed at supporting priorities of the Pacific islands
The United States and four other countries on Friday announced an initiative aimed at supporting the priorities of the Pacific Islands region.
The initiative, called the Partners in the Pacific Blue, is comprised of five countries: the U.S., Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, all of which sent representatives to meet alongside other nations on Thursday and Friday.
Goals of the initiative include engaging more regularly with Pacific governments, encouraging and facilitating “great engagement with the Pacific by any other partner that shares the Pacific’s values” and further supporting the priorities of the region that are “in line with the Pacific Islands Forum’s upcoming 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent,” according to the joint statement.
“This new initiative builds on our longstanding commitment to the region,” the countries said.
“We are united in our shared determination to support a region that benefits the peoples of the Pacific. We are also united in how we realize this vision—according to principles of Pacific regionalism, sovereignty, transparency, accountability, and most of all, led and guided by the Pacific Islands,” the added later.
The agreement comes as China has sought to boost links to nations in the area and expand its influence.
It also comes about a month after the president unveiled an economic framework specific to the Indo-Pacific region meant to focus on climate change, supply chains and trade, among others. The countries included as a part of that framework include New Zealand, Australia and Japan.
Source: TEST FEED1
