President Johnson Toribiong said that Koshiba’s work is not done yet until the $250 million package is finally approved by the United States through a law.
The president said a formal signing of the agreement will still transpire in Palau this month.
“He will remain until the U.S. approves the economic aid package,” the president said.
Earlier , Koshiba told reporters that he will formally send an official communication to Alcy Frelick, United States Compact Advisory Group chair , of the intention to hold the signing ceremony here.
Palau accepted the $250 million Compactfunding package offered by the U.S.
The next hurdle is to get the aid package approved by U.S. Congress.
President Johnson Toribiong is expected to go to Washington D.C. after the signing to lobby for its passage.
The Compact envoy said the year-long review was successful due to members of the group who were instrumental in the negotiations and were part of the first Compact review.
The $250 million packageincludes subsidy for the U.S. Postal Service, the funding provided to Palau in the Fiscal Year 2010 and resources earmarked for annual contributions to the infrastructure as maintenance matching fund.
Both the U.S. and Palau conducted a year-long review of the Compact.
Palau will have another opportunity to review the Compact after year 2024.
Koshiba said that Palau is confident that at the time the Compact funds will have performed well enough to sustain Palau’s economy.
