Kiribati Ready to Welcome US, Russian Embassies - Envoy to UN
UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) - Kiribati is looking to welcome a US embassy on the island after the October 25 presidential election in the island country, Kiribati's former president and current ambassador to the United Nations Teburoro Tito told Sputnik.
"There is a discussion in the capital about it [opening embassy]. And I know that they're ready to receive the US Embassy in Kiribati soon after the things get back to normal after the elections," Tito said on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
Tito noted that the Pacific nation right now is going through an election period, with parliamentary elections held in August and the presidential race scheduled for October 25.
Tito suggested that by early November the government will make a decision to allow the embassy to start, noting that there is no exact date yet.
Kiribati would also welcome the establishment of a Russian diplomatic mission on the island, Tito told Sputnik.
"They [Russia] haven't come up with any idea about that, but I'm sure, if they asked for the government to set up their mission, I'm sure they would be welcome," Tito said on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.
The official stressed that it is important for Kiribati to have diplomatic representation of other countries including the United States.
"Like all our partners out there, to have established embassies in Kiribati, of course, it’s challenging, because it’s too far away from anywhere, and so not many countries want to set up their embassies," he shared. "But we are glad that we have Australia, New Zealand there, and now Japan is there now, just starting. China is there. And now the US. We welcome. It's part of our international relations. It’s good to have other people, other countries wanting to set up their missions in Kiribati. I think that's always welcome."
In May, Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said that the United States is working to open an embassy in Kiribati. In July, the country opened an embassy in the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu.
The initiatives come as the US attempts to deepen bilateral relationships in the Indo-Pacific region to fend off Chinese influence.
Kiribati is a small country in terms of landmass but its 313 square miles (811 square km) of land is spread out over more than 1.3 million square miles (3.4 million square km) of ocean stretching from south of Hawaii to north of New Zealand.
Last year, the US opened embassies in the Solomon Islands, Tonga, and the Maldives and recognized the Cook Islands as a sovereign state and established diplomatic relations with it.
UN Needs Reform to Reflect Reality, But Mindset Should Change First
The United Nations needs reform to reflect current global trends, but world leaders must first change their mindset, Kiribati's former president and current ambassador to the UN Teburoro Tito told Sputnik.
"The organization started 79 years ago — the world then was different from now, right? We need to reform it. We need to change it," Tito said on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. "There's a need to change something which was planted 80 years ago. I'm sure we should try and adjust that organization created 80 years ago to suit the circumstances of today."
Any reform, however, should not only be about changing the structure, but also the mindset.
"They were leaders 80 years ago - the leaders of Russia, Britain, France, whoever founded - that mentality and the mindset then is very different from the mindset of leaders now. So the leaders now must also reform their mindset," Tito said. "I don't believe in structure creating the change. The mindset will create a change."
Human beings in charge of different countries must reform their mindset and stop the trend of global fragmentation, according to the Kiribati envoy.
"Fragmentation is going on and on to many groups, and they talk in silos. They don't want to communicate," he said. "The Global South and Global North. I watch this and I'm not very supportive of creating more and more groups ... I see the United Nations creating groups or promoting groups that are not talking to each other. I don't want that."
Tito stressed that he wants to see more UN members coming together, talking more and socializing more.
"We should minimize the hate speech. That contributes to more fragmentation, more divisions," he said. "United Nations was created to create unity. United means come together. That's what the United Nation was created for."
In recent years, reforming the UN has been a widely addressed issue as many countries and entities doubt the organization's efficiency in tackling emerging challenges. Last year, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that if the organization could be called a global family, it is a "rather dysfunctional" one.
