U.S. Relations With the Solomon Islands
More information about Solomon Islands is available on the Solomon Islands Country Page and from other Department of State publications and other sources listed at the end of this fact sheet.
U.S.-SOLOMON ISLANDS RELATIONS
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
In Solomon Islands and across the Pacific Islands region, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) supports programs that help communities adapt to the negative impacts of global climate change and supports disaster relief efforts and disaster risk reduction programs to enhance local capacity for disaster response. USAID’s Pacific Islands Regional Office is located in Papua New Guinea which covers 12 nations: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Tonga, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Nauru, Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, and Republic of the Marshall 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. Embassy in Port Moresby issued a disaster declaration and provided $50,000 to the Solomon Islands to assist with the Dengue Fever outbreak in 2013.
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 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 Walter E. North, 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.
More information about Solomon Islands is available from the Department of State and other sources, some of which are listed here:
Department of State Solomon Islands Page
Department of State Key Officers List
Human Rights Reports
International Religious Freedom Reports
Trafficking in Persons Reports
Narcotics Control Reports
U.S. Census Bureau Foreign Trade Statistics