Statement by NSC Spokesperson Adrienne Watson on Senior Administration Travel to Hawaii, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands

This week, National Security Council Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell and Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Kritenbrink will lead a delegation of U.S. government officials to three Pacific Island nations: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. The delegation—which will include representatives from the National Security Council, the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and the United States Agency for International Development—will seek to further deepen our enduring ties with the region and to advance a free, open, and resilient Indo-Pacific. In Hawaii, the delegation will consult with senior military officials and regional partners at United States Indo-Pacific Command. In Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands, the delegation will meet with senior government officials to ensure our partnerships deliver prosperity, security, and peace across the Pacific Islands and the Indo-Pacific. They will also meet with representatives of the Pacific Islands Forum, a critical driver of regional action, to discuss issues of importance to the Pacific as a whole. The trip builds on Secretary Antony Blinken’s travel in February to the region, during which the Administration released the Indo-Pacific Strategy of the United States and furthered our shared commitment to democracy and prosperity in the Pacific.

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