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Deputy Secretary Landau Signs Peace Corps Framework MOU with Solomon Islands Prime Minister Wale, July 20, 2026

July 20, 2026 · U.S. Department of State · 0:03:38

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What happened

Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale signed a memorandum of understanding at the Department of State on July 20, 2026, setting a framework to re-establish a Peace Corps program in the Solomon Islands, according to the State Department broadcast. Landau, who said he also serves as acting director of the Peace Corps, said Wale had raised reviving the program shortly after taking office and that Peace Corps colleagues were enthusiastic, as stated in his remarks.

Wale said the Solomon Islands has a great legacy with the Peace Corps — its children were taught by Peace Corps teachers, treated by Peace Corps doctors, and served by Peace Corps water engineers — and he urged that the program not be delayed, according to his remarks. Landau joked that the bureaucracy does not usually move this quickly and credited Wale’s persuasiveness, as stated in the exchange.

Why it matters

The MOU is a concrete step in the administration’s Pacific engagement, using the Peace Corps’ return to the Solomon Islands as a visible marker of the U.S. relationship with a strategically watched island nation.

Sources: U.S. Department of State, “Deputy Secretary Landau at a Signing Ceremony with Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale”, 2026-07-20 (official upload, embedded above; published 2026-07-20). Transcript via Supadata (private research store, paraphrased and attributed, not republished). All figures and characterizations as stated by the speakers.