The United States wants the Pacific islands to have options when it comes to development opportunities and development partners.
This was the word of United States Agency for International Development (USAID) administrator Samantha Power after launching the USAID Pacific Islands Mission yesterday.
Ms Power told faculty members and students at the University of the South Pacific the US wanted to partner with the Pacific inclusively, openly, and with humility.
She said as the US increased its investments in the Pacific, it was not attempting to force nations to choose between partnering with the US and partnering with other nations to meet their development goals.
“We do want you to have a choice, it’s not a choice we will make for you, but we want you to have options,” she said.
“We want Pacific island nations to have more options to work with partners whose values and vision for the future align with your own.”
Ms Power said the assistance that would come through the USAID Pacific Islands Mission would come in the form of grants — not loans — as was always the case with USAID.
She said the US was interested in economic independence and independence of choice.
“Not saddling future generations with attachments and debts that will later have to be paid. We don’t want to create a dependence on the US or use economic leverage to extract concessions,” Ms Power said.
“Our goal is to do what we can do to support you as you decide how to invest in the future you want for yourselves.”
