New Zealand's top diplomat Winston Peters says he foresaw Donald Trump's election as US president and is well-prepared to renew ties with the Republican administration.
Mr Trump's triumph in the all-important American election has the potential to upend the international order and has diplomats across the region resetting their approach.
Significantly for the Pacific, Mr Trump is set to withdraw the United States from the central international pact to counter greenhouse gas emissions, the Paris Agreement, just as he did in his first term.
That act drew criticism from many across the climate-dependent region, including Samoa's prime minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa.
"All I can say is to echo the disappointment from world leaders including those from Samoa and the Pacific at the USA’s about face under the new administration,” she said while deputy prime minister in 2017.
"The important thing is for all the countries who signed the Paris Agreement to move forward on our global response to Climate Change. Hopefully the USA can resolve the issue internally and realign with the rest of the world."
Leaders from Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Tonga and Cook Islands were among those in the Pacific to issue statements congratulating his win.
"It is my sincere hope and prayer that President-elect Trump’s tenure in office will be marked by the delivery of peace, unity, progress and prosperity for all Americans, and the community of nations," Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka posted on social media.
In New Zealand, Mr Peters told Radio NZ the outcome was "not new to us in terms of being a surprise".
He said that was why, in May, he re-appointed diplomat Rosemary Banks as New Zealand's Ambassador to the United States, given she had previously served in the role during the first Trump administration.
"We know that people we're going to deal with, many of them the same, and I've got the same ambassador in Washington for this eventuality," the deputy prime minister and foreign minister said.
Mr Peters rejected the notion Mr Trump neglected the Pacific during his first term, a period when Solomon Islands and Kiribati abandoned recognition of Taiwan in favour of China.
There are fears in heavily export-oriented New Zealand that it could suffer should Mr Trump follow through on policy promises to erect trade barriers with tariffs on imports.
Mr Peters said he would resume a push for a free trade agreement with the US, its third-biggest trade partner after Australia and China, after being "on the cusp" during their first term.
Elsewhere in the region, Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown said he hoped increased American interest in the blue continent would continue.
"The US has re-engaged with the Pacific in terms of diplomatic representation and increased people to people engagements," he told the Cook Islands News.
"I don't see any drastic changes in US policy on what they have termed as the Indo-Pacific strategy. Both Dems and Rep have similar policies on the Indo-Pacific. I don't expect much change."
