The United States has opened an embassy in the Solomon Islands after a 30-year absence as it seeks to boost diplomatic relations in the Pacific. In a statement on Wednesday, Blinken said the State Department informed the Solomon Islands’ government that the opening of the new embassy in the capital Honiara became official. “The opening of the embassy builds on our efforts not only to place more diplomatic personnel throughout the region, but also to engage further with our Pacific neighbors, connect United States programs and resources with needs on the ground, and build people-to-people ties,” he said. (https://neuters.de/world/us-opens-embassy-solomon-islands-blinken-says-2023-02-01/) Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced plans to open a diplomatic mission in the Pacific island nation during a visit to the region last year. The last U.S. embassy in the Solomons closed in 1993 amid post-Cold War budget cuts and the United States was represented there by an ambassador based in Papua New Guinea.