More information about Palau is available on the Palau country page and from other Department of State publications and other sources listed at the end of this fact sheet.
U.S.-PALAU RELATIONS
In 1947, the United Nations assigned the United States administering authority over the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (Trust Territory), which included what is now the Republic of Palau (Palau). The Compact of Free Association (COFA) between the United States and Palau entered into force in 1994. The COFA reflected that Palau was a sovereign nation in free association with the United States. The Compact does not have an end date. A Compact Review Agreement (2010 CRA) was signed in 2010; in 2018, it was amended and brought into force. In March 2024, another Compact Review Agreement (2023 CRA) entered into force, committing $889 million in grant assistance and trust fund contributions over twenty years, to provide assistance in education, health, environment, administration of justice, public safety, and audits. The COFA Amendments Act of 2024 also included a variety of additional authorizations: relating to veterans’ services and education.
Palau is a sovereign nation and conducts its own foreign relations, consistent with the terms of the COFA. The United States and Palau maintain diplomatic relations, as well as deep ties and a cooperative relationship. Under the COFA, Palau and the United States agreed that the United States has full authority and responsibility for defense and security matters in and relating to Palau. In addition, eligible Palauan citizens can travel to the United States without visas to live, work, and study, consistent with the terms of the COFA and the CRA. Eligible Palau citizens are able to serve in the U.S. armed forces, and do so at a higher rate per capita than any U.S. state.
In addition, the United States and Palau cooperate on a broad range of issues, including strengthening regional security, preparing for emergencies, promoting sustainable development and tackling the climate crisis, remediating unexploded ordnance (UXO), and protecting fisheries and the environment. Palau also has one of the highest levels of voting coincidence with the United States at the United Nations.
U.S. Assistance to Palau
The United States provides a wide range of economic assistance to Palau that, under the 2023 CRA, will continue through FY 2043. The 2024 Federal Programs and Services Agreement also specifies the federal programs and services that would be provided through FY 2043. Under the 2023 CRA, the United States also provides additional contributions to the Compact Trust Fund, which assists Palau in achieving healthy economic growth.
Separately, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has a Pacific Mission that covers 12 nations, including Palau. USAID is supporting, through grant and technical assistance, the development of a submarine cable branch system that increases Palau’s redundancy and internet access. The Palau spur connects to a larger transpacific cable, a $30 million trilateral effort by the U.S. Department of Interior, USAID, and the governments of Australia and Japan.
USAID supports a more resilient Palau by strengthening community resilience, advancing resilient economic growth, and strengthening democratic systems. USAID’s Climate Ready project works with government partners to draft and implement policies to achieve adaptation goals, access larger amounts of financing from international adaptation funds, and improve skills and systems to monitor projects. To combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, USAID is working with The Pacific Community (SPC) to improve sustainable coastal fisheries management and create enabling conditions for an ecosystem approach to fisheries management. To improve sustainable fisheries in Palau, the OurFish OurFuture activity addresses the social and ecological drivers of IUU fishing that are degrading coastal fisheries and biodiversity, as well as negatively impacting local livelihoods, food stability, and maritime security.
In 2022, the United States co-hosted the 7th Annual Our Ocean Conference with Palau in Koror, which addressed cross-cutting themes on small island states and climate change. Palau joined the Local2030 Islands Network, a State Department funded network that connects island economies and jurisdictions to advance sustainable development solutions. The United States is partnering with the Pacific Islands Health Officers Association and the governments of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands through Diminishing Dengue in the Indo-Pacific with Climate Services. The project uses climate, demographic, and health variables to generate an early warning system for mosquito borne diseases, improving the targeting of risk communication and vector control measures. This effort demonstrates ways that U.S. and Islander leadership can apply science, public health, and community engagement to bolster health security and climate resilience across the Pacific.
Since 2009, the United States provided more than $6.8 million for Conventional Weapons Destruction (CWD) activities in Palau to survey and clear UXO remaining from World War II. Current U.S.-Palau UXO cooperation is coordinated through Palau’s National UXO Safety office and is creating a national UXO survey plan, conducting clearance operations, and building the capacity of the Government of Palau.
Through the Department of State’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, the Global Defense Reform Program (GDRP) provides Palau with regular advisory assistance to strengthen maritime governance and address shared maritime objectives. A GDRP advisor embedded in Palau’s Division of Marine Law Enforcement (DMLE) advises Palau’s Joint Operations Center (JOC) and DMLE.
Palau’s Membership in International and Regional Organizations
Palau and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations, including the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, and World Bank. Palau is a member of the Pacific Islands Forum, the Pacific Community, and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environmental Programme.
Bilateral Representation
Principal embassy officials are listed in the Department’s Key Officers List.
Palau maintains an embassy in the United States at 1701 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20006 (tel: 202-349-8598). The Palau Ambassador to the United States and Dean of the Diplomatic Corps is Hersey Kyota.
More information about Palau is available from the Department of State and other sources, some of which are listed here:
CIA World Factbook Palau Page
U.S. Embassy
History of U.S. Relations With Palau
U.S. Census Bureau Foreign Trade Statistics
Travel Information
