Pete A. presents credentials to State

As required by the Covenant, Washington Rep. Pete A. Tenorio presented his Election Credentials to Assistant Secretary Christopher Hill Tuesday during a brief ceremony at the U.S. Department of State.

Tenorio is now entitled, as during his first term, to receive official recognition by all departments and agencies of the Government of the United States.

“I will be receiving a letter from Assistant Secretary Hill in the next week or so documenting this presentation, which I can use as a letter of introduction to government officials. Since we don’t have a Delegate in Congress, this is the best formal recognition I have of my role and status in Washington,” said Tenorio.

Before the ceremony Tenorio, had a moment to brief Hill on current economic and fiscal conditions in the CNMI and to request that the U.S. embassies in Japan and Korea highlight and emphasize the CNMI for economic development, investment and tourism promotion for these countries.

“I want to thank our good friend, Deputy Assistant Secretary Dave Cohen, whose office helped arrange this ceremony, and who will be using the in-house channels established by the Intergovernmental Group on Insular Areas to communicate the importance and significance of this presentation,” said Tenorio.

Of all the U.S. territories, only the two Commonwealths, the CNMI and Puerto Rico, are required by law to have their elected representatives present their election certificates to the State Department. Puerto Rico’s Resident Commissioner is also their Delegate to Congress and is the only member of Congress that serves a four-year term. The current Resident Commissioner is Luis Fortuno, who is a cosponsor of the CNMI Delegate Bill.

Hill is the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and serves as the head of the U.S. Delegation to the Six-Party Talks on the North Korean nuclear issue. Previously he served as the U.S. Ambassador to Poland, the Republic of Macedonia, and the Special Envoy to Kosovo. He also served as Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Southeast European Affairs in the National Security Council. He was the recipient of the Robert S. Frasure Award for Peace Negotiations for his work on the Kosovo crisis. (PR)