On September 20, 1979, representatives of the newly independent Republic of Kiribati and of the United States met in Tarawa to sign a treaty of friendship between the two nations, known as the Treaty of Tarawa. In this treaty, the U.S. acknowledged Kiribati sovereignty over fourteen islands.[1] The treaty came into force on September 23, 1983, by the exchange of the instruments of ratification, which took place at Suva, Fiji.[2]