By Pacific Island Times News Staff
Koror— The Department of the Interior has announced a grant from the Technical Assistance Program to fund the establishment of the Micronesian Islands Forum Secretariat office in Palau.
Carmen Cantor, assistant secretary for Insular and International Affairs, has presented a $400,000 grant to Guam Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero and Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr.
During the 26th MIF meeting on Guam last year, island leaders agreed to hire a secretary general and upgrade the organization.
“While the MIF Secretariat will be located in Palau, Guam provided strong leadership and collaboration with the island’s leaders to complete and submit the final application,” DOI said in a press release.
“This important regional organization brings island leaders together on many important issues and now with a new secretariat, they can be even more effective in advocating for their needs,” Cantor said.
The funding will establish the MIF Secretariat in Palau to coordinate and manage executive functions of the regional body and strengthen regional collaboration among Micronesian island nations on key regional issues such as economic development, environmental protection, clean energy and cultural preservation.
MIF, a regional intergovernmental organization composed of island nations and territories in the Micronesia subregion of the Pacific, includes the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, Palau, Guam, Nauru, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
Since its establishment in 1994, MIF has held regular meetings. The most recent meeting was held in February 2023 in Pohnpei, FSM.
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