The US is Your Partner: Ambassador Damour
The new United States of America Ambassador, Marie Damour, wants to work together with Pacific Island Countries to ensure the region is resilient, prosperous, healthy, and sovereign.
Ms Damour met with the media at the United States of America Embassy in Suva on Friday.
She presented her credentials to the President Ratu Wiliame Katonivere on November 24. As part of the ceremony, she was a accorded a guard of honour.
She recently served as consul general of the United States of America consulate general in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
With almost three decades of service, Ms Damour has worked in five different regions of the world and served successfully in a variety of leadership and policy-making roles.
Ms Damour said the United States and Fiji shared a long history of common values and priorities. In World War II, she said the two countries fought side-by-side to protect freedoms, and continue to collaborate on issues of similar importance.
“At COP27, we worked with over 190 countries to advance global cooperation on emission reductions, climate finance, and other issues of direct concern to Fiji and the Pacific Island Region,” she said. “American President, Joe Biden, pledged to deliver $11 billion annually by 2024 to support countries in their efforts to decarbonise their economies, advance climatefriendly land use practices, and enhance adaptation and resilience.
“The United States is also your partner in defense and security. We understand the difficulty of protecting territorial integrity in areas that extend far into the blue Pacific. “To help, we have signed 11 bilateral shiprider agreements with Pacific Island countries, including Fiji, to allow your law enforcement personnel to embark on U.S. Navy and Coast Guard vessels to observe, board, and search other vessels suspected of violating your laws or regulations within each country’s Exclusive Economic Zone,” she said.
At the Pacific Island Forum in
Suva, this year, Vice President Kamala Harris announced our pledge to request a ten-year, $600 million Economic Assistance Agreement associated with the South Pacific Tuna Treaty.
“As Ambassador, I hope to strengthen the ties between the U.S. and our friends and neighbors in the Pacific.
“We fought side-by-side in World War II to ensure freedom, and our
cooperation continues.
“Today we work together to ensure regional security, shared prosperity, and resilience against global warming,” she said.
She said the Biden administration was committed to being an active, engaged partner in the Pacific and that commitment was bearing fruit.