Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau will make his way to the Solomon Islands next week as part of a sweeping Pacific tour that also includes stops in Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Kiribati from August 31 to September 11.
The visit takes on particular significance for Honiara, where Landau is scheduled to meet with government representatives and business leaders to advance shared economic and security priorities.
The trip builds on momentum in the bilateral relationship and underscores Washington’s renewed focus on the region.
Landau’s itinerary begins in Palau, where he will join the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders’ Meeting alongside Forum Dialogue Partners, before traveling to the FSM for talks with officials and the private sector.
In Kiribati, he is expected to attend the Kiribati Development Partners Forum.
The Solomon Islands leg comes after the Kiribati stop, positioning the visit as a key moment in the tour’s focus on deepening ties with a nation at the center of intensifying great-power competition in the Pacific.
Landau will be accompanied by U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Kevin Lunday on the Palau, FSM, and Solomon Islands portions of the trip a signal of the central role maritime security plays in the bilateral agenda, particularly given the vast ocean domain the Solomon Islands oversees.
Also joining in Palau will be U.S. Pacific Command Deputy Commander Lieutenant General George Rowell and U.S. Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary Bill Hague.
The Pacific remains an enduring priority for Washington, which casts the region’s island nations not merely as neighbors but as friends and partners in preserving an open, secure, and prosperous Pacific.
