By Mar-Vic Cagurangan
The Peace Corps office today announced it has signed a new memorandum of understanding with Palau to collaborate on advancing the country’s whole-of-government approach to education priorities.
“It’s a historic day,” Palau President Whipps Jr. said, noting the impact that the Peace Corps has had in Palau in the past and the positive impact former Peace Corps volunteers continue to have in Palau to this day.
“At its core, diplomacy between nations starts with people and building personal connections that break down language, background and cultural barriers," said Carol Spahn, Peace Corps director.
According to a press release from the Peace Corps office, the MOU was signed in New York during the United Nations General Assembly's high-level week, “marking a new chapter in the Peace Corps’ relationship with the people of Palau.”
The mission is scheduled to return to Palau in 2025 after being shut down in 2018 due to budget decline.
Dale Jenkins, a former Peace Corps volunteer and now Palau’s education minister, said the volunteers will help augment Palau’s limited teaching force.
“We are honored to have the opportunity to create new connections and strengthen the enduring friendships between the people of Palau and the United States,” Spahn said.
The Peace Corps, the United States’ trademark public diplomacy program in the Pacific region, used to run programs in 13 islands beginning in the 1960s.
Since 1966, more than 4,500 volunteers have served in Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands, collectively known as freely associated states.
The United States’ diminished presence in the region resulting from embassy closures and Peace Corps withdrawal has paved the way for China to make successful inroads.
China's increasing influence in the Pacific has prompted Washington to reexamine and revive its relations with the island nations.
In 2022, U.S. lawmakers called on the Peace Corps office to reinstate the mission across the Pacific islands, particularly the freely associated states, citing the need to beef up U.S. presence in the region.
“This MOU reflects the Peace Corps’ support for Palau’s education priorities as a pathway for opportunity and builds on the agency’s longstanding partnership with Pacific Island countries,” the Peace Corps said.
“Through this partnership, the incoming class of volunteers will work closely with local teachers, students, and community stakeholders to advance local solutions for long-lasting change,” it added.
Daniel Kritenbrink, assistant secretary for the U.S. State Department's East Asian and Pacific Affairs, dubbed the signing event “Palau Day.”
Before the MOU signing, U.S. and Palau officials signed the Palau-U.S. 2024 Federal Programs and Service Agreement.
This story has been updated.
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