Five Micronesian countries declare that President Joe Biden will visit the Pacific for a leaders' meeting later this year, in another sign the US remains intent on ramping up high level diplomatic engagement with the region.
The declaration from the Micronesian leaders seems to indicate Mr Biden is set attend the PIF Leaders Summit in Cook Islands later this year – although there was no immediate response from the United States government when approached for comment.
A separate statement issued by the President of the Federated States of Micronesia , David Panuelo, was slightly more circumspect, saying only that the leaders discussed "the value of a visit by US President Joseph Biden Jr to the Pacific sometime in the near future".Mr Panuelo also celebrated the unanimous endorsement of the Suva Agreement by Micronesian leaders.
FSM had also been keen to host the new sub-regional PIF office, but Mr Panuelo said in his statement that his nation was happy to cede that ground for the sake of unity. "The MPS was a victory through humility; and what might be perceived as a loss for the FSM is, in fact, our greatest gain, for we have strengthened our Micronesian subregion, and will further strengthen our Blue Pacific Continent," he said.Australia has been helping to broker the talks to bring Kiribati back into the fold, and Australian officials will be relieved to see Micronesian leaders strike this pact at a broader meeting of PIF leaders next week in Fiji.
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