Basil will join millions of Americans in celebrating the inauguration of Obama in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 20 there.
He will be the only person representing PNG and the non-U.S. Pacific Islands region to witness the change of guard in America.
The trip is fully funded by the U.S. government, which will enable politicians, journalists, academics and others to witness the transition of power in a civil society and how democracy works in America.
U.S. Ambassador to PNG Leslie Rowe said Basil would have the opportunity to talk to local officials involved in the US elections.
“He will have the chance to meet with winners — politicians who won the elections — and losers — people who lost the election — in North Carolina and Ohio as well as in Washington,” Rowe said.
“It’s a very historical event where we will see the transition of an old administration to a new one,” Basil said.
Rowe said this would be a unique trip that Basil would undertake with 21 other delegates from at least 20 countries.
“This is a very unique trip; he will be in the US for about two weeks, initially traveling to Washington and then to two other states, Ohio and North Carolina,” Rowe said.
Basil will be joined by 21 other delegates from countries in Latin America, Africa and South Asia, Singapore, Malaysia and New Zealand.
