White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden would use the summit to strengthen “ties with the Pacific islands and discuss how we address complex global challenges, like tackling the existential threat of climate change, advancing economic growth, and promoting sustainable development.”
The leaders were scheduled to be feted on Sunday at a Baltimore Ravens football game and to visit a coastguard cutter in Baltimore Harbour for a briefing by the commandant of the US coastguard on combating illegal fishing and other maritime issues.
Pacific island leaders have been critical of rich countries for not doing enough to control climate change despite being responsible for much of the problem, and for profiting from loans provided to vulnerable nations to mitigate the effects.
US ‘back in force’ in Pacific as Biden engages with regional leaders at summit
US ‘back in force’ in Pacific as Biden engages with regional leaders at summit
Biden will welcome the leaders to the White House on Monday morning for talks and a working lunch. They also will meet on Monday with Biden’s special envoy on climate, John Kerry, for talks focused on climate change. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and un Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield will host the leaders at the State Department for a dinner.
Kerry and USAID administrator Samantha Power will host the leaders on Tuesday for climate talks with members of the philanthropic community. The leaders also are slated to meet with members of Congress and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is to host a round table with the leaders and members of the business community.
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US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen unknowingly ate hallucinogenic mushrooms in China
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen unknowingly ate hallucinogenic mushrooms in China
Power last month travelled to Fiji to open a new USAID mission that will manage agency programmes in nine Pacific nations: Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau. The US this year has opened embassies in Solomon Islands and Tonga, and is on track to open an embassy in Vanuatu early next year.
The White House said most members of the 18-member forum were dispatching their top elected official or foreign minister to the summit.
‘Appalled’: Solomons joins China in blasting Japan over Fukushima water dump
‘Appalled’: Solomons joins China in blasting Japan over Fukushima water dump
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is set to receive Biden on a state visit next month.
