{"id":274853,"date":"2018-04-26T06:06:24","date_gmt":"2018-04-25T20:06:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=274853"},"modified":"2018-04-26T06:06:24","modified_gmt":"2018-04-25T20:06:24","slug":"9-leaders-grace-mif-opening","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/9-leaders-grace-mif-opening\/","title":{"rendered":"9 leaders grace MIF opening"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
The 23rd Micronesia Islands Forum packs a full house on its first day yesterday at the Hibiscus Hall of the Fiesta Resort & Spa Saipan.\u00a0(ERWIN ENCINARES)
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The 23rd Micronesia Islands Forum kicked off on Saipan yesterday with nine Micronesian leaders talking about the common problems facing the region.<\/p>\n

With 270 registered participants, the three-day forum is attended by several Micronesian leaders: Palau President Tommy M. Remengesau, Federated States of Micronesia President Peter M. Christian, Republic of Marshall Islands President Hilda Heine, Chuuk Gov. Johnson Elimo, Pohnpei Gov. Marcelo K. Peterson, Kosrae Lt. Gov. Carson K. Sigrah, Yap Lt. Gov. James Yangetmai, Guam Gov. Eddie B. Calvo, and CNMI Gov. Ralph DLG Torres.<\/p>\n

Torres was chosen yesterday as the 23rd chair of the MIF, succeeding Guam\u2019s Calvo as the 22nd chair. Torres\u2019 nomination was unopposed, leading to him bagging the chairmanship yesterday.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026It is an honor to have the president of Palau, FSM, and RMI as well as the other governors\u2019 vote of confidence for me to guide,\u201d said Torres in an interview yesterday.<\/p>\n

He noted that it was important that members of Micronesia meet to discuss issues that they face altogether, such as surviving as small islands in a world where globalization is a standard; decolonization and self-governance; and building relationships with the Pacific U.S. territories and the Freely Associated States.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is very important [to move forward as one Micronesia]. We have a lot of similarities on our histories and cultures, but we also need to know that we should help one another,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

According to Torres, several members have had past relationships with the CNMI, such as Yap\u2019s Yangetmai, who was a teacher in the Public School System for about 27 years, and Palau\u2019s Remengesau, who has roots on Saipan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to strengthen that relationship\u2026I think we should start expanding our resources and helping [other Micronesian islands] as much as we can,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

Remengesau noted in his welcoming remarks that the massive participation yesterday was a good sign. He said that at the first MIF, which was held in Dolphin Park, Palau, the forum drew significantly less attendees.<\/p>\n

\u201cI believe this meeting [on] Saipan is demonstrating an incorporated effort to move this body forward and to begin the process of coordination between the host country and the secretariat, resulting in better committee performance. At the end of the day, the success of our committees in enhancing regional communication and action will define the success of the MIF,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026As I have always said, the oceans indeed do not divide us but bring us closer together. We can prove that this is true by working together through this forum, solving the issues that need a regional response. In order to do this, we need to trust each other and to trust this regional process of cooperation,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Bittersweet 23rd<\/p>\n

Guam\u2019s Calvo said that since this was his last year as governor, this also means it is his last time to be in the forum as a leader.<\/p>\n

Although the experience may be bittersweet, Calvo said he looks forward to attending future MIF meetings as a member of the audience instead of a chief executive representing Guam.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026I have enjoyed and learned so much with this organization in over eight years. Getting to know more of my other island neighbors, working collaboratively toward joint resolutions on many issues; and working on many opportunities together\u2026I am going to miss them,\u201d he said in an interview yesterday.<\/p>\n

Regarding the importance of holding meetings between Micronesian islands, Calvo echoed the importance of collaboration.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026There are so many things we have joint discussions on and hopefully collaborate on policies we can agree on [such as] fisheries [or] our environment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Topics for the MIF today include discussions on the economic viability of Micronesia; a presentation on the Regional Workforce Development Council from NMI Labor Secretary Vicky Benavente; discussions on regional recycling initiatives, regional transportation, and regional health; and a presentation on climate change.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The 23rd Micronesia Islands Forum kicked off on Saipan yesterday with nine Micronesian leaders talking…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":274856,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[94],"tags":[1666,20931,20732,319],"class_list":["post-274853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-headlines","tag-guam-gov","tag-micronesia-islands-forum","tag-mif","tag-palau"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=274853"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/274853\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/274856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=274853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=274853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=274853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}