President Johnson Toribiong on Friday announced that Helen-Reed Rowe will be serving her diplomatic post.
Rowe was confirmed after U.S. President Barack Obama nominated her earlier.
The ambassador is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service. She currently serves as a Senior Advisor to the Office of Performance Evaluation in the Department of State.
She previously served as the Foreign Affairs Advisor from the Department of State to the Avian Influenza Action Group. Washington assignments also include Post Management Officer in the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs; Management Officer in Bureau of European Affairs; Desk Officer in the Bureau of African Affairs; and an Examiner on the Board of Examiners in the Bureau of Human Resources.
Overseas posts include Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands; Supervisory General Services Officer in Jamaica; Regional Personnel Officer in Ecuador; and Personnel Officer in Niger.
This would be Rowe’s first ambassadorial appointment.
Since 1996, the US Ambassador to the Philippines has also been accredited to Palau.
In her nominating statement before the U.S. Congress, Rowe said, “Palau is a loyal friend and ally in many other ways. For example, Palau’s voting record in the United Nations corresponds to U.S. interests on important policy matters more often than almost any other country in the world.”
The United States and Palau have just completed the first fifteen years under the Compact of Free Association, and just concluded the first 15-year review provided for in the agreement.
“How we manage our relationship with Palau over the next several years will set a tone that could last decades. If confirmed, I will make every effort to ensure our mutual success in a range of areas. My highest priority will be the protection of Americans and U.S. interests in Palau,” she stated in her statement.
She said she will also encourage the Department of Defense’s Pacific Command to continue its engagement with Palau.
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