Joe Biden

Hilda lays out her plan

Hilda lays out her plan

WILMER JOEL President Hilda Heine and her cabinet were formally inaugurated on Monday January 22 inside the Nitijela Chamber. Top dignitaries from the Pacific, Asia, and North America attended the inauguration. In her first second-term address to the nation as president, Heine outlined the goals of her administration in steering the country towards prosperity and […]

Yun on Compact talks

Yun on Compact talks

JESSICA STONE* Congress is reviewing a proposal from President Joe Biden to create new security guarantees for three Pacific Island states: the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau. If Congress passes the Compacts of Free Association by September 30, they would provide billions of dollars of economic and security assistance for the nations and would deny […]

‘Power of the pulpit’

‘Power of the pulpit’

HILARY HOSIA Nitijela Speaker Kenneth Kedi called on church leaders from around the Pacific to support the government to reach out to the public on issues facing the nation. Speaker Kedi made the remarks during the Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) meeting in Majuro Monday at the Marshall Islands Resort, where Kedi said the influence […]

Yun, Kabua agree on Compact money

Yun, Kabua agree on Compact money

GIFF JOHNSON and HILARY HOSIA Last week’s signing of an MOU for the Compact of Free Association was momentous for the Marshall Islands and the United States, coming less than a year since RMI Foreign Minister Kitlang Kabua took up her post and US Special Envoy Joseph Yun was named by President Biden to head […]

US puts on a show

US puts on a show

GIFF JOHNSON Much was written and said about last week’s US Pacific Islands Summit in Washington, DC, which was the first time a US president hosted a large group of Pacific heads of state at the White House. It generated multiple wire service stories and widespread media coverage around the globe, reporting on Washington’s effort […]

US-RMI seek quick deal

US-RMI seek quick deal

GIFF JOHNSON United States and Marshall Islands leaders said after completing the first round of talks last week that they hope to complete negotiations to renew provisions of an economic and security treaty by the end of this year or early next year. Washington sees extension of funding packages under compacts of free association with […]

Friendly starts to compact talks

Friendly starts to compact talks

GIFF JOHNSON Nearly three years after the first in-person preliminary discussions were held between the US and the Marshall Islands for a third funding agreement in the Compact, negotiations resumed again this week with a two-day meeting at Kwajalein. The negotiations stalled after these first discussions were held in Pohnpei between President Trump’s Secretary of […]

Kedi likes US response

Kedi likes US response

GIFF JOHNSON “On a scale of one-to-10, with 10 being the best, I put my visit to Washington at 9.5,” said Speaker Kenneth Kedi in an interview with the Journal Wednesday this week. The Speaker was in Arkansas at mid-week, following a packed agenda in Washington, DC over several days last week with meetings with […]

Pres. Kabua announces national summit

Pres. Kabua announces national summit

WILMER JOEL The annual commemoration of the founding of the RMI Constitution that was established on May 1, 1979 went ahead Monday this week with a parade and speeches, followed by music, games and a canoe race. The Constitution embodies free governance, independence, and democracy that has stood the test of time for 43 years […]