Compact Chief Negotiator Ambassador Joshua Koshiba said that during the Compact meeting in Hawaii “US assured Palau extension almost sure to be passed in Congress.”
Koshiba said when the measure is passed Palau will get the same level of funding it receives for one year.He said once it is passed then U.S. and Palau will continue on with the Compact review.Palau earlier asked for a one year extension as the economic provision of the 50-year Compact lapses September 30 this year.In a statement the Compact review office said that a Palauan delegation that included Vice President Kerai Mariur, Koshiba, Minister of Health Dr. Stevenson J. Kuartei, Palau Community College President Dr. Patrick Tellei, Ambassador to the U.S. Hersey Kyota, Representative to the United Nations Stuart Beck, and their consultants met in Honolulu on July 8-9 in connection with the 15th Anniversary Review with an American delegation that included Department of State Office of Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Islands Affairs Alcy Frelick, the head of the US Delegation, and representatives of the Departments of the Interior and Defense and the Weather and Postal Services.The U.S. delegation “made positive statements on a few matters and agreed to discuss some others further. A number of the U.S. delegation’s statements, however, evidenced a need for greater study by some U.S. officials of the intent as well as the letter of the Compact, the relationship as a whole, Palau’s economic situation and fiscal responsibility commitments, and Palau’s contributions to the U.S. and to international harmony — including sacrifice by Palauans in the U.S. military, the UN international peacekeeping force and Palau’s strategic location and posture, and Palau’s positions in the U.N., “ the statement said.It further added that “because of the confidence that it has in the United States, and because it would not be productive to elaborate with others on the conversations at this stage, Palau’s representatives are confining additional comment to official communications.”Koshiba added that Palau will continue to receive postal services despite the lapse of the Compact.He added that educational and health assistance will continue because they are federally funded programs.Palau, Koshiba said is grateful for its partnership with the U.S. and wants to continue in the association as called for by the Compact, “deepen the relationship, and develop its capacities as a freely associated state.”He said that Palau also received positive expressions of U.S. Secretaries of State Clinton and of the Interior Salazar and congressional leaders of both political parties. “Palau fully trusts that reflection will result in an approach to the relationship consistent with the Compact and to positions befitting the great nation that is the United States,” the stamen said.Due to the global economic challenges Palau understands that U.S. officials need more deliberations on the matter.The amounts and types of U.S. budgetary and programmatic assistance to Palau under the Compact are specified for 15 years, but the Compact requires reviews of its terms and the entire relationship on its 15th, 30th, and 40th anniversaries. The reviews are to consider the operating requirements of the Government of Palau and the islands’ development. The Compact also commits the U.S. to acting on the findings and to promoting Palau’s long-term economic development.Koshiba said the next meeting nor its venue have not been scheduled yet.
