LIEUTENANT Gov. Diego T. Benavente has been elected chairman of the Pacific Islands Development Bank’s board of governors.
Benavente was unanimously elected during the bank’s annual board meeting last week in Palau.
Gov. Juan N. Babauta said Benavente’s election will be good for the CNMI.
“I spoke to the lt. governor about his election as chairman and I must say that I am very, very proud,” Babauta told the Variety.
Officials of the CNMI, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the Marshall Islands, American Samoa and Hawaii comprise the bank’s board of governors.
“I am very proud to serve as chairman of the board. It will be a big challenge for me to fulfill the vision of the organization,” Benavente told the Variety yesterday.
He said the CNMI had finally completed the payment of its $1 million contribution to the bank.
This amount can now be tapped by the CNMI to fund small businesses in the Northern Marianas through the Commonwealth Development Authority.
Benavente presented the check worth $94,000 during the board meeting last week.
“The lt. governor has worked on this for a long time ever since he was in the Legislature,” the governor said. “With his strong and effective leadership it has now become a reality,” Babauta added.
The CNMI was represented in the board meeting by Benavente, House Commerce Committee Chairman Andrew Salas, R-Saipan, and CDA Executive Director Marylou Ada.
