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AP News (23 August 2024)

Charlotte Graham-McLay, Yuri Kageyama

The government of Kiribati is suspending all diplomatic visits to the tiny Pacific Island nation until next year and has cancelled some already planned, because it is in the midst of an election process that could run for several more months, an official said Thursday.

The official in Kiribati’s foreign ministry told The Associated Press that a message announcing the pause in diplomatic trips was sent earlier this week to countries that have diplomatic relations with Kiribati — a low-lying atoll of 120,000 people.

It follows escalating friction between Kiribati and Western nations — particularly Australia, a major aid donor — over the country’s deepening ties with China.

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