President Surangel Whipps Jr. will be one of the Pacific leaders that will meet United States President Joe Biden in Papua New Guinea this month.
The Office of the President confirmed last week that he will be traveling to PNG for the summit.
This will be the first time a US president will travel to a Pacific island. The Pacific region has been seen lately as a strategic region as US and China vie for influence among the island nations.
Biden is set to touch down in PNG on May 22.
According to a press statement from the White House, President Biden, Jr. will make a historic stop in Papua New Guinea while traveling from the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Hiroshima, Japan to the Quad Leaders’ Summit in Sydney, Australia.
While in Papua New Guinea, President Biden will meet with Prime Minister Marape of Papua New Guinea and other Pacific Island Forum leaders to follow up on the first-ever U.S.–Pacific Island Summit in Washington, DC last fall.” According to Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s statement.
The statement added that the” leaders will discuss ways to deepen cooperation on challenges critical to the region and to the United States, such as combating climate change, protecting maritime resources, and advancing resilient and inclusive economic growth.
“ As a Pacific nation, the United States has deep historical and people-to-people ties with the Pacific Islands, and this visit – the first time a sitting U.S. President has visited a Pacific Island country – further reinforces this critical partnership.”