SYDNEY/WASHINGTON, Sept 24 (Reuters) – The United States is disappointed that Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare will not attend a Pacific Islands summit with US President Joe Biden next week, he said on Saturday at the White House.
Biden will host a second summit with Pacific Islands Forum leaders at the White House on Monday as part of his efforts to strengthen engagement in a region where the United States is locked in a war for Chinese influence.
The summit is scheduled to be held with the 18-member forum on Monday and Tuesday in Washington.
“We are disappointed that Prime Minister Sogavare of the Solomon Islands is not scheduled to attend,” a Biden administration official said.
In his place, Solomon Islands Foreign Minister Jeremiah Maneli will attend the summit, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation ABC reported.
The Solomon Islands Prime Minister’s office did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Sogavare spoke before the UN General Assembly on Friday in New York, where he praised China’s development cooperation as “less restrictive and more responsive and consistent with our national needs” and said Beijing is the key infrastructure partner.
Sogavare said he reached an agreement with President Xi Jinping during his visit to China in July in the Solomon Islands to achieve development through China’s policies, including the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Security Initiative.
Vanuatu Prime Minister Sato Kilman will also not attend the meeting as all Vanuatu government lawmakers must go to Parliament on Monday for a no-confidence vote, an official in the prime minister’s office said. of Vanuatu told Reuters on Friday.Satu Kilman.
