More information about Palau is available on the Palau country page and from other Department of State publications and other sources listed at the end of this fact sheet.
U.S.-PALAU RELATIONS
The United States assumed administration of Palau in 1947 under UN auspices as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. In 1982, Palau signed a Compact of Free Association with the United States, through which the United States provides annual financial assistance to support Palau’s government. Palau gained its independence and established diplomatic relations with the United States in 1994, with the entry into force of the Compact, under which the U.S. remains responsible for Palau’s defense until 2044. Palau is a sovereign nation and conducts its own foreign relations. The United States and Palau cooperate on a broad range of issues, including strengthening regional security, promoting sustainable development and tackling the climate crisis, remediating unexploded ordnance (UXO), and protecting fisheries and the environment. Approximately 500 Palauans serve as volunteers in the U.S. armed forces, and Palau also has one of the highest levels of voting coincidence with the United States at the United Nations.
U.S. Assistance to Palau
The United States and Palau signed the Compact Review Agreement in 2010, with a wide range of federal programs to continue until 2024. The United States also worked with Palau to establish the Compact Trust Fund to assist Palau in achieving healthy economic growth. As of March 2022, the value of the Compact Trust Fund was approximately $296.4 million.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is located in Manila, Philippines, and covers 12 nations, including Palau. USAID is supporting through grant and technical assistance the construction of a new $30 million undersea cable to Palau. Support for the project is being provided by the U.S. Department of Interior, USAID, and the governments of Australia and Japan.
With the Pacific Community (SPC), the institutional Strengthening in Pacific Island Countries to Adapt to Climate Change project is supporting the scale up of successful multi-sectoral approaches to improve climate resilience. To combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, USAID is working with SPC to improve sustainable coastal fisheries management and create enabling conditions for an ecosystem approach to fisheries management. To improve sustainable fisheries in Palau, the OurFish OurFuture activity works to address the social and ecological drivers of IUU fishing that are degrading coastal fisheries and biodiversity, as well as negatively impacting local livelihoods, food stability, and maritime security.
In 2022, the United States co-hosted the 7th Annual Our Ocean Conference with Palau in Koror, which sought to address cross-cutting themes on small island states and climate change. Palau joined the Local2030 Islands Network, a State Department funded network that connects island economies and jurisdictions to advance sustainable development solutions. The United States is partnering with the Pacific Islands Health Officers Assocation and the governments of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands through Diminishing Dengue in the Indo-Pacific with Climate Services. The project uses climate, demographic, and health variables to generate an early warning system for mosquito borne diseases, improving the targeting of risk communication and vector control measures. This effort demonstrates ways that U.S. and Islander leadership can apply science, public health, and community engagement to bolster health security and climate resilience across the Pacific.
Since 2009, the United States has provided more than $5.4 million in Conventional Weapons Destruction (CWD) assistance to Palau to mitigate the negative impacts of unexploded ordnance (UXO) remaining from Pacific bombing campaigns during WWII. Current U.S.-Palau UXO cooperation is coordinated through Palau’s National UXO Safety office and is creating a national UXO survey plan, conducting clearance operations, and building the capacity of the Government of Palau.
Through State’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, the Global Defense Reform Program (GDRP) is assisting the Palauan government to strengthen its institutional capacity in the area of maritime security. A GDRP Senior Advisor embedded with Palau’s Division of Maritime Security and Fish and Wildlife Protection (DMSFWP) is helping to operationalize the new Joint Operations Center (JOC) (formerly Maritime Operations Center). The JOC has improved Palau’s maritime governance and security capacity by allowing the DMSFWP to monitor and counter illicit activities in Palau’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Since December 2020, for example, the GDRP program has contributed to Palau’s increasing capability to detect illegal research vessels and to interdict illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing vessels. Over the past few years, the GDRP program also supported the Government of Palau in establishing the Office of the National Security Coordinator and in starting the process of creating a National Security Strategy, which was released in June 2022.
Bilateral Economic Relations
The Compact Review has identified U.S.-Palauan cooperative efforts to promote trade and investment in Palau, which will complement current initiatives to expand and develop a healthy economic partnership.
Palau’s Membership in International Organizations
Palau and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations, including the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank. Palau also belongs to the Pacific Islands Forum, of which the United States is a Dialogue Partner, the Pacific Community, and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environmental Programme.
Bilateral Representation
Principal embassy officials are listed in the Department’s Key Officers List.
Palau maintains an embassy in the United States at 1701 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006 (tel: 202-349-8598). The Palau Ambassador to the United States and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps is Hersey Kyota.
More information about Palau is available from the Department of State and other sources, some of which are listed here:
CIA World Factbook Palau Page
U.S. Embassy
History of U.S. Relations With Palau
U.S. Census Bureau Foreign Trade Statistics
Travel Information
Original source can be found here.
