“The economic activities on Guam are bound to spill over to the CNMI,” he added.
With an estimated 8,000 Marines and about 9,000 family members relocating from Okinawa to Guam by 2014, Sablan said the CNMI can help provide the needed agricultural products and serve as a tourist destination to the servicemembers and their families.
Sablan said this is why CDA should assist the stakeholders in local agriculture.
“This is where we come in by assisting our local farmers acquire loans for agriculture, fishing, marine or other ventures,” he added.
The military buildup on Guam could also revive the CNMI’s tourism industry, he said.
He said the CNMI will get a “fair share” of the military personnel and their families who may want to see the rest of the Mariana islands for a weekend of rest and recreation.
The CNMI can actively participate in the economic development projects that will be ushered by the military buildup on Guam, he added.
According to Sablan, the tourism industry badly needs a boost especially with the looming exclusion of tourists from Russia and China from the visa waiver program when local immigration is federalized on Nov. 28, 2009.
