A senior official from the United States Aid agency says one of its priorities in the Pacific region is disaster preparedness and response.
The United States' main development agency will be returning to the South Pacific after fifteen years and is finalising a location for its office.
An assistant administrator with USAID Nancy Lindborg, who attended a Donor Support Group meeting in New Zealand this week, says the Pacific is a disaster prone region.
"There's something like 40 percent of natural disasters happen in Asian-Pacific. It's a very active region with earthquakes and tsunamis so it's an area where you can make a huge difference by working together especially in some of the Pacific Islands - that's where we might be able to make some of our greatest difference together."
Nancy Lindborg says an announcment on where the new aid office will be based should come in the next couple of months.
