President Joe Biden will travel to Papua New Guinea during a trip to the Indo-Pacific region this month, the White House announced Tuesday, marking the first visit of a sitting US president to the Pacific country. The visit will take place between stops in Japan and Australia, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who called the partnership between the US and Pacific Island countries “critical. The Biden administration has worked to deepen its engagement with Pacific Island nations, including the announcements of new embassies in the Solomon Islands, Kiribati and Vanuatu