U.S. Relations With Vanuatu

Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs
Fact Sheet
March 9, 2016


More information about Vanuatu is available on the Vanuatu Country Page, from other Department of State publications, and from other sources listed at the end of this fact sheet.

U.S.-VANUATU RELATIONS

The United States and Vanuatu established diplomatic relations in 1986, six years after Vanuatu's independence from France and the United Kingdom. The U.S. Ambassador to Papua New Guinea is also accredited to Vanuatu. U.S. representation is handled by the U.S. Embassy in Papua New Guinea. Peace Corps maintains a country office in Port Vila, Vanuatu. The United States and Vanuatu share a commitment to strengthening democracy, enhancing security, and promoting development.

U.S. Assistance to Vanuatu

The Vanuatu Government's main concern has been to bolster the economy, which is primarily agricultural. The United States is a major financial contributor to international and regional organizations that assist Vanuatu, including the World Bank, UN Children's Fund, World Health Organization, UN Fund for Population Activities, and Asian Development Bank (ADB). Peace Corps volunteers are assisting communities and government departments in Vanuatu in the areas of health, technology, and education. Peace Corps and USAID are cooperatively administering a small-grants project to assist communities in adapting to climate change. Vanuatu was the recipient of a Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) $65 million compact which constructed two critical roads on the country’s most populous islands. This project has had a positive impact across a range of economic and social indicators from entrepreneurship to health to women’s empowerment.

In Vanuatu and across the Pacific Islands region, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) supports programs that help communities adapt to the negative impacts of global climate change and supports disaster relief efforts and disaster risk reduction programs to enhance local capacity for disaster response. Following Cyclone Pam in March 2015, USAID provided $2.2 million in humanitarian assistance to victims. USAID’s Pacific Islands Regional Office is located in Papua New Guinea which covers 12 nations: Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Tonga, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu, Nauru, Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, and Republic of the Marshall Islands. The United States builds the capacity and resilience of Vanuatu to adapt to climate change through regional assistance that covers these 12 Pacific Island countries.

Bilateral Economic Relations

U.S. trade with Vanuatu is very limited. Vanuatu is a party to the U.S.-Pacific Islands Multilateral Tuna Fisheries Treaty, which provides access for U.S. fishing vessels in exchange for a license fee from the U.S. industry. Under a separate Economic Assistance Agreement associated with the Treaty, the United States government currently provides $21 million per year to Pacific Island parties.

Vanuatu's Membership in International Organizations

In keeping with its need for financial assistance, Vanuatu has joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and ADB, organizations to which the United States also belongs. Vanuatu is a member of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization, the Pacific Community, and Pacific Regional Environment Programme. Vanuatu also belongs to the Pacific Islands Forum, of which the United States is a Dialogue Partner.

Bilateral Representation

The U.S. Ambassador to Vanuatu is Catherine Ebert-Gray, resident in Papua New Guinea; other principal embassy officials are listed in the Department's Key Officers List.

Vanuatu has no embassy in Washington, DC, but has a mission to the United Nations in New York.

More information about Vanuatu is available from the Department of State and other sources, some of which are listed here:

Department of State Vanuatu Page
Department of State Key Officers List
CIA World Factbook Vanuatu Page
USAID Vanuatu Page
Human Rights Reports
International Religious Freedom Reports
Narcotics Control Reports
U.S. Census Bureau Foreign Trade Statistics