By Gemma Q. Casas
Variety News Staff

THE Fitial administration believes that U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne’s scheduled visit to the Northern Marianas and other American jurisdictions in the Pacific is a reflection of the islands’ importance to the United States.
U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Insular Affairs David Cohen said they are scheduled to arrive here on June 5 and will depart the next day to visit other insular areas in the region.
“I plan to accompany Secretary Kempthorne to Saipan. We plan to arrive on June 5 and fly out on June 6. The secretary has gotten personally involved in efforts to help the CNMI economy, and he’s anxious to see the place and meet its people,” Cohen said in an e-mail.
Kempthorne’s predecessor, Gale Norton, visited Saipan in 2004.
Press Secretary Charles P. Reyes Jr. said Fitial looks forward to Kempthorne’s brief visit.
“I am sure economic issues and federal legislation will be the most important issues we will discuss with Secretary Kempthorne,” he added.