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 […]
GIFF JOHNSON Two senior US government officials are — or will be — in Majuro for high-level talks with RMI authorities this week. Wednesday’s first in-person JEMFAC meeting in three years is to be followed by one or more days of Compact negotiations late this week with the arrival Thursday of the chief US negotiator. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Four US Senators called on the Senate’s Appropriations Committee chairman to include over $23 million in the upcoming fiscal year budget for the RMI’s and FSM’s Supplemental Education Grants (SEG). The appeal was made earlier this month to Appropriations Chairman Senator Patrick Leahy by Hawaii Senators Brian Schatz and Mazie Hirono, and Senators Christopher Coons […]
GIFF JOHNSON Veterans from the Marshall Islands and the other freely associated states, all nations aligned with the US through Compacts, must travel at great personal expense to take advantage of health benefits they earned by their service in the US military. The practical impact of this situation is that most Marshallese veterans are completely […]
WILMER JOEL As a proclamation by US President Joe Biden proclaimed Memorial Day on May 31, 2021 for those in the American Armed Forces who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service their countries, a memorial day event was held at the Marshall Islands Resort (MIR), with the raising of the flag as the start […]