The meeting will be held in the conference room of the Pohnpei State Hospital in the municipality of Nett, with the theme, “Title III: Partnership for Community Development.”
The JCM is a joint committee of senior government officials of the governments of the Federated States Micronesia and the U.S., established under Title III of the Compact of Free Association, as amended, with the primary aim to addressing defense and security issues and related agreements between the two countries.
Prominent military representatives slated to attend this year’s meeting are Rear Adm. Paul Bushong, who is the commander of the Joint Region Marianas, as well as the U.S. defense representative to the FSM, and Capt. Casey White, the current commander of the U.S. Coast Guard Sector based in Guam. This will be White’s first time to attend the JCM.
Among others, some of the major topic of presentations and discussions will include the governments’ recent engagements through the U.S. States Coast Guard covering recent search and rescue operations, updates on the enlistment of FSM citizens in U.S. armed forces, recent developments on the Guam military buildup, and Humanitarian Assistance to the FSM to be implemented by the U.S. military.
The recent Pacific Partnership Mission to the FSM in July of this year, and current implementation progress of community projects under the Civic Construction Action Details are also two items that will be discussed in the meeting.
The U.S. will be represented by its ambassador to the Federated States of Micronesia, Peter Prahar, as head of the delegation, with high military representatives based out of Guam and Hawaii.
As with previous JCMs, the delegation of the Federated States of Micronesia will be headed by Secretary Lorin S. Robert of the Department of Foreign Affairs with senior officials from the line department and agencies.
