U.S. Secretary of State Tony Blinken will travel to Tonga, New Zealand, and Australia from April 24-29, the State Department announced today.
Blinken will visit Nuku’alofa on the 26th to attend the dedication of the new U.S. Embassy in Tonga and meet with senior Tongan officials to discuss democratic values and a vision for a peaceful and resilient Pacific region, the State Department said.
Earlier, the United States opened a new embassy in the Pacific island nation of Tonga on May 9.
The opening of the U.S. embassy in Tonga is part of a check on China’s growing influence in the Pacific island nation. The U.S. reopened an embassy in the Solomon Islands in February after a 30-year absence,먹튀검증토토사이트 and has been pushing to open embassies in other Pacific island nations.
On the 27th, Blinken will travel to New Zealand to discuss bilateral and global issues.
He will also be in Brisbane, Australia, on the 28th and 29th to attend the Australia-U.S. Ministerial Consultations and hold bilateral talks.