Several Pacific Islands, including the Marshall Islands, which is among a handful of nations that join the United States in voting with Israel at the United Nations, will attend what is being touted as the first Pacific Island-Arab meeting to be held in the UAE on June 23-24.
The Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia and Palau all have long-term aid treaties with the United States and their U.N. votes on Middle East issues nearly always follow the U.S. position.
Marshall Islands Foreign Minister John Silk said Wednesday he will head a delegation to the UAE meeting that will include the country¹s United Nations Ambassador Phillip Muller and Foreign Ministry Secretary Kino Kabua.
The meeting has been called by UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan to consider “prospects for Cooperation between the Arab world and the Pacific Islands.”
At a recent Arab League meeting in Egypt, “I shared my positive experiences of the Pacific region with member countries all of whom showed tremendous support and enthusiasm to develop Arab-Pacific Island relations further,” said Al Nahyan in an invitation letter last month to Marshall Islands President Jurelang Zedkaia.
He said the “partnership in the Pacific program” is an outreach umbrella program initiated by the UAE to strengthen and increase cooperation with the island states of the Pacific.
The UAE has established a partnership fund with $50 million, managed by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, targeted for Pacific island development needs. It is also seeking an annual meeting to consult on various development issues, and establishing research partnerships.
“This engagement with the Pacific is new,” said Silk. “It’s the first time the Pacific has been invited to consultations at the initiative of the UAE.”
Silk said he had asked government officials to submit development project requests that can be put on the table for consideration during the meetings next week.
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