In this file photo dated Sept 25, 2019, President of Kiribati Taneti Maamau speaks at the 74th Session of the General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in New York. (PHOTO / AFP)
SYDNEY – The remote atoll nation of Kiribati said on Monday it would rejoin the Pacific Islands Forum, ending a split that had threatened unity in the strategically-located region.
The decision followed the "fruitful, positive, and successful bilateral meeting" with Fiji's new Prime Minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, who travelled to Kiribati on Jan 20, according to a statement posted to the Facebook account of President Taneti Maamau.
It added that the Kiribati government had formally stated its "positive endorsement to rejoin the Pacific Islands Forum this year 2023". Kiribati is 3,000 kms (1,860 miles) southwest of the US state of Hawaii.
ALSO READ: Taneti Maamau re-elected as Kiribati's president
In July, Kiribati abruptly withdrew from the first in-person meeting of Pacific Island Forum leaders to be held since the pandemic closed borders, and where United States vice-president Kamala Harris pledged to triple aid to the region and sought closer maritime surveillance cooperation.