Fijian President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau began an official visit to Palau on Monday as part of his tour to regional capitals, the government said.

According to the Ministry of Information, this is the first visit by a Fijian head of state to Palau, a chain of about 200 islands in the north-west Pacific that became a sovereign state in 1994 and has a Compact of Free Association with the United States.

Nailatikau is expected to hold talks with senior Palauan officials, including President Thomas Remengesau.

Later this week, Nailatikau will travel to Guam.

As part of Fiji's effort to build closer ties with its Pacific neighbors, the Fijian president has already made official visits to Solomon islands, Vanuatu, Kiribati, Nauru, Tuvalu, Papua New Guinea and Timor Leste.