United States and Pacific island nations agree to ‘declaration of partnership’, says Blinken

The United States has agreed on a historic partnership with leaders from the Pacific islands which can result in “big dollar” help for the region. It was a step taken by the USto stop the growing influence of China in the region as the aid is expected to be announced at thePacific Islands Country Summit.

According to Washington Post, US President Joe Biden can announce an investment of around $860 million in various programs in order to help the islands. While no official statement has come from the White House, a US official told Reuters that the agreement for the investments is in place.

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This was the first time that the US hosted a summit involving leaders from the Pacific islands. Secretary of stateAntony Blinken held meetings with all the major leaders in the summit and welcomed all the participating nations by saying- “You can count on the United States partnering with you.”

While it was reported that Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare will not be signing the declaration with the US, reports suggest that he has also agreed to the proposed plans.

In April this year, the Solomon Islands signed a bilateral security cooperation agreement with China which focused on boosting the security capacity as well as humanitarian assistance in the region.

While there were no mentions of China, Blinken said that the US would work with the islands on “preserving a free and open Indo-Pacific where every nation – no matter how big, no matter how small – has the right to choose its own path.”

Joe Biden will be hosting the leaders from the Pacific islands on Thursday.