FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
U.S. Relations With the Solomon Islands
Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Fact Sheet
During World War II, U.S. and Japanese forces fought each other in Solomon Islands, then a British protectorate. By the end of 1943, the Allies were in command of the entire Solomon chain. The large-scale U.S. presence toward the end of the war dwarfed anything seen before in the islands. In recognition of the close ties forged between the United States and the people of Solomon Islands during World War II, the U.S. Congress financed the construction of the Solomon Islands Parliament building.
The two countries established diplomatic relations following Solomon Islands' independence in 1978 from the United Kingdom. The U.S. Ambassador to Papua New Guinea is also accredited to Solomon Islands. U.S. diplomatic representation is handled by the U.S. Embassy in Papua New Guinea. The United States maintains a Consular Agency in Honiara, Solomon Islands to provide consular services. The United States and Solomon Islands are committed to working together and improving regional stability, promoting democracy and human rights, responding to climate change, increasing trade, and promoting sustainable economic development.
U.S. Assistance to Solomon Islands
The U.S. Coast Guard provides training to Solomon Islands border protection officers, and the U.S. military also provides appropriate military education and training courses to national security officials. The USG also implements a program on unexploded ordinance on Guadalcanal. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contributes to the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) focused on preserving coral reefs, fisheries, and food security. Solomon Islands is one of six CTI countries. With the opening of the USAID Pacific Islands Regional Office in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea in October 2011, USAID is now providing development assistance related to climate change in the Solomon Islands. A new five-year, $5 million project will collaborate with GIZ in a ridge-to-reef approach to environmental management on Choiseul Island. In addition, Solomon Islands will be one of the focus countries for the upcoming $25 million Climate Change Adaptation Program for the Pacific, which will assist communities in adapting infrastructure, health systems, agricultural practices, and economic livelihoods to the realities of climate change.
Bilateral Economic Relations
Under the multilateral U.S.-Pacific Islands tuna fisheries treaty, the U.S. grants $18 million per year to Pacific island parties, including Solomon Islands, for access by licensed U.S. fishing vessels. U.S. trade with Solomon Islands is very limited.
Solomon Islands' Membership in International Organizations
Solomon Islands and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations, including the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Trade Organization, Pacific Community, and Pacific Regional Environment Program.
Bilateral Representation
The U.S. Ambassador to Solomon Islands is Teddy B. Taylor, resident in Papua New Guinea; other principal embassy officials are listed in the Department's Key Officers List.
Solomon Islands has no embassy in Washington, DC, but has a permanent representative to the United Nations in New York who also is accredited as ambassador to the United States.
