The Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Resources (MFOR), representing the Government of Kiribati, was honored to host a high-level delegation from the United States Embassy this week.

Following their attendance at the Wa Forum (May 6th–7th, 2026), the U.S. delegation extended their stay to engage in strategic bilateral discussions aimed at strengthening maritime cooperation. The meetings provided a critical platform to explore collaborative efforts across three primary pillars:

• Marine Scientific Research (MSR): Strengthening global knowledge sharing and streamlining MSR application processes.

• Deep-Sea Minerals (DSM): Identifying potential technical support and sustainable frameworks for mineral activity standards.

• IUU Fishing: Leveraging U.S. technological solutions to combat Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated fishing, ensuring the protection of sovereign waters and national food security.

• Engaging the Marawa Board to deliberate on strategic partnership opportunities for the advancement of deep-sea mineral exploration.

𝘒𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘪 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘗𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘯𝘵.