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New Zealand reviews its aid to Kiribati after the Pacific island nation snubs an official’s visit

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand is reconsidering all development funding to the aid-dependent island nation of Kiribati, following a diplomatic snub from the island nation’s leader, government officials said.

The unusual move to review all finance to Kiribati was prompted by the abrupt cancellation of a planned meeting this month between President Taneti Maamau and New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters, Peters’ office told The Associated Press on Monday.

It followed months of growing frustration from Australia and New Zealand — jointly responsible for more than a third of overseas development finance to Kiribati in 2022 — about a lack of engagement with the island nation. Tensions have risen since Kiribati aligned itself with China in 2019 and signed a series of bilateral deals with Beijing.

An strategically important island nation

The bond between Kiribati — population 120,000 — and its near neighbor New Zealand, a country of 5 million people, might not appear the South Pacific’s most significant. But the acrimony reflects concern from western powers that their interests in the region are being undermined as China woos Pacific leaders with offers of funding and loans.

That has provoked a contest for influence over Kiribati, an atoll nation that is among the world’s most imperiled by rising sea levels. Its proximity to Hawaii and its vast exclusive economic zone — the world’s 12th largest — have boosted its strategic importance.

Powers vie for sway with aid

Kiribati, one of the world’s most aid-dependent nations, relies heavily on international support, with foreign assistance accounting for 18% of its national income in 2022, according to data from the Lowy Institute, an Australian think tank. About 10% of

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