Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manesseh Sogavare said that he skipped a Pacific Islands leaders summit at the White House this week to avoid a “lecture” and because he had more pressing issues at home. Sogavare, who has built close ties with China, held a press conference on Wednesday after arriving back in the Solomon Islands from the United States. In the US, he spoke at the United Nations but did not join other Pacific Island Forum leaders in Washington for a two-day summit.
