US plans second summit with Pacific island leaders in September

(Patria) - US President Joe Biden will host a second summit with leaders of Pacific island nations in September, said Joseph Yun, the US official responsible for negotiations with three key Pacific island nations.

US officials said the summit is expected to take place during the UN General Assembly meetings in New York in September, Reuters reports.

Biden's National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, said in May that Biden would organize another summit of Pacific island leaders this year after disappointment caused by his cancellation of a visit to Papua New Guinea due to a domestic debt crisis.

Biden hosted the first summit last year.

"He is committed to holding a second summit in September this year," Yun said.

He stressed the importance of Congress approving new funds for the three Pacific island countries with which he has been negotiating by the end of the fiscal year on September 30, given China's ambitions in the region.

Palau, Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands have so-called Compacts of Free Association (COFA) with Washington, under which the US has responsibility for their defense and provides economic assistance, while gaining exclusive access to vast strategic parts of the Pacific. In May, Yun said he had finalized terms with Micronesia and Palau to renew their COFAs and hopes to do so with the Marshall Islands in the coming weeks.

However, the Foreign Minister of the Marshall Islands last week sought more US money to address the legacy of massive US nuclear tests to allow the renewal of their agreement, the economic terms of which expire on September 30.

"I hope we can reach an agreement in a reasonably short time," Yun said.

Under the memoranda of understanding agreed this year, the US will provide a total of $7.1 billion over 20 years for the three countries, subject to congressional approval. Yun suggested that Congress approve the total amount agreed in the memoranda of understanding by September 30 and without a final agreement with the Marshall Islands, warning that it would be detrimental to the country's credibility and a major blow to the islands if this does not happen.