Pacific islands leaders gathered Monday for the start of a two-day Washington summit. As part of the summit, the U.S. is formally establishing diplomatic relations with two South Pacific nations, the Cook Islands and Niue. Biden announced Monday that later this year he would deploy a U.S. Coast Guard vessel to the region to collaborate and train with Pacific islands nations. The administration pledged the U.S. would add $810 million in new aid for Pacific islands nations over the next decade, including $130 million on efforts to stymie the impacts of climate change. The leaders will also meet on Monday with Biden's special envoy on climate, John Kerry, for talks focused on climate change.

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Persons: Joe Biden, Biden, ” Biden, “, Antony Blinken, Niue Premier Dalton Tagelagi, Mark Brown, Brown, ” Brown, John Kerry, Linda Thomas, Greenfield, Kerry, Samantha Power, Janet Yellen, Anthony Albanese Organizations: WASHINGTON, Monday, Pacific Islands Forum, South Pacific, Niue Premier, Cook Islands, U.S ., U.S, Corporation, NFL, U.S . Coast Guard, White House, State Department, U.S . Agency for International Development, USAID, Marshall, Federated, Australian Locations: Washington, United States, U.S, Cook Islands, Niue, Cook, Australia, Micronesia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia , New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Baltimore, Pacific, Federated States, The U.S