Washington Calling.

The Washington Summit for Pacific Leaders have penciled themselves in for meeting with Condaleeza Rice, according to the schedule tabled by the State Department. Radio NZ article claims that the issue of Fiji's democracy is on the agenda, despite a contradiction in opinions (WAX) from a Fiji Village article which quoted Fiji's point man, Parmesh Chand, who is also invited to the same meeting along with Interim Minister, Poseci Bune.

Although, Interim Prime Minister, Voreqe Bainimarama was not invited by the US State Department; the US reaction was labelled in a Fiji Village article as "Double Standards" by American Samoan Congressman, Faleomaveaga Eni Hunkin.

The upcoming meeting of Pacific Leaders brokered by the State Department in Washington, has received skeptical reaction from some quarters, as described by an article from Pacific Island Business.

This is an excerpt of the article:

Letter from Suva: GETTING ISLANDS NEEDS ON THE USA AGENDA NOT EASY

Laisa Taga

As Pacific leaders prepare to jet out to Washington for their high powered pow-wow with top American officials, Pacific ambassadors were still battling it out with the US State Department officials. This was over what should be included on the agenda of the May 7-9 meeting.

LETTER FROM SUVA has been told that despite a meeting on April 24 in New York with officials Steve McGann, Dr Gerald Finn and Jason Cutie, Pacific ambassadors were still not satisfied.

One Pacific ambassador who spoke to LETTER FROM SUVA said despite suggestions by Pacific Islands ambassadors to include some development issues like migration, HIV/AIDS, trade, etc, to the draft agenda, the Americans were reluctant.

“Their agenda is more focused on security and other matters of interest only to them,” this Pacific Islands ambassador told LETTER FROM SUVA.

“The ambassadors have been working extremely hard trying to ensure the agenda allows for a meaningful discussion with our leaders and the US and result in some tangible results that can be taken forward".

"We believe that a successful meeting can only be attained by having a good constructive agenda, which covers both the US and Pacific islands countries’ interests.”

Another key issue of concern to Pacific ambassadors is the availability of President George Bush to meet with the islands leaders. This again appeared to be a difficulty for the Americans “despite giving a full audience to New Zealand’s Prime Minister Helen Clark during her recent visit to the US.

“At this point in time (April 28), it is not confirmed,” the Pacific ambassador told LETTER FROM SUVA.

However, a summary of the April 24 meeting, a copy of which was obtained by LETTER FROM SUVA, said the state department was still actively pursuing the appointment with Bush.

However, President Bush’s participation was contingent on the number of Heads of State and Heads of Government attending the meeting. According to the ambassador, at least three Heads of State have confirmed their participation.

A state visit by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth to the United States will also be falling at the same time, which could make it more difficult for Pacific leaders to meet with President Bush.

US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, however, has been scheduled to welcome the Pacific leaders. 2007 has been declared by the Americans as the Year of the Pacific and as part of this they have promised to increase engagement with the Pacific.

As Glyn T. Davies, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, told LETTER FROM SUVA: “We have revitalised our relationship with the Pacific and we’ve decided to come up with a slogan but behind it is a plan to speed up the pace of contact with Pacific leaders.

“We would like to raise the profile of the Pacific in Washington by bringing Pacific Leaders to Washington and exposing them to American leaders and American leaders to them, and getting them we hope to learn a little bit more about how our system works. But importantly American policy makers can get to know them and about the issues of the Pacific.

“What we’re trying to do is to have more dialogue by creating opportunities to listen and to talk—what some people accuse us of not doing—to try and understand better what is going on.

“What is lacking we think is a sort of high level dialogue. Let’s talk as equals about strategic situations, let’s talk about your global concerns. It is an opportunity to talk about the Pacific’s aspirations for the future and for the US, what is it we hope for in the Pacific,” Davies said.

But some regional observers are skeptical about the United States’ increased engagement.

The Americans literally abandoned the Pacific Islands after the end of the Cold War. In some islands places, offices like USAID and The Asia Foundation were shut down what seemed close to overnight. With the Cold War over, the Americans moved on to other areas they considered more important than small islands nations dotted across a large ocean.

One regional observer said: “Yes, the US has announced 2007 as being Year of the Pacific and whilst we want to believe that this is a serious indication of their intention to return in a big way to the Pacific, nothing substantive seems to be visible nor any new initiatives proposed to be put on the table for our Pacific islands’ taking.

“We are hoping that this is not just a public relations exercise or political maneuvering/posturing to counter China and others’ increasing interest and presence in the Pacific islands countries. “So far, it’s just a ‘bang’ and with just six or so months left, we hope that something will emerge to prove us wrong.”

A key indicator will be how President Bush treats the visit of the island leaders, and whether issues of importance to the islands are treated seriously in Washington.

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