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, combating trafficking in persons, 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 United States builds the capacity and resilience of Solomon Islands to adapt to climate change through regional assistance that covers these 12 Pacific Island countries.

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 United States also implements a program on unexploded ordnance on Guadalcanal, and the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accountability Agency deploys missions throughout the year to recover and repatriate remains of U.S. soldiers from World War II. 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 and provided $250,000 to assist with Cyclone Ita flood recovery in 2014.

Bilateral Economic Relations

Solomon Islands is a party to the U.S.-Pacific Islands Multilateral Tuna Fisheries Treaty, which provides access for U.S. fishing vessels in exchange for a license fee from the U.S. industry. Under a separate Economic Assistance Agreement associated with the Treaty, the United States government currently provides $21 million per year to Pacific Island parties.

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, the Pacific Community, and Pacific Regional Environment Programme. Solomon Islands also belongs to the Pacific Islands Forum, of which the United States is a Dialogue Partner.

Bilateral Representation

The U.S. Ambassador to Solomon Islands is Catherine Ebert-Gray, 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
USAID Solomon Islands Page
Human Rights Reports
International Religious Freedom Reports
Trafficking in Persons Reports
Narcotics Control Reports
U.S. Census Bureau Foreign Trade Statistics