Mori, accompanied by Lorin Robert, foreign affairs secretary, Gillian Doone, statistics office assistant director, Samson Pretrick, FSM ambassador to Fiji, and Judy Mahan, special assistant to the president, first met with the U.S. delegation, headed by Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific affairs.
Campbell informed Mori that the U.S. would actively seek ways to ensure FSM’s active involvement in the Guam buildup.
Campbell also offered to create military training sites in the FSM in coordination with relevant U.S. agencies.
Mori told Campbell he was extremely pleased that the U.S. was considering the FSM for location of military training sites, an opportunity to further strengthen the FSM’s relationship with the U.S.
The FSM delegation subsequently met with Cui Tian Kai, vice foreign minister of China and his delegation.
Mori thanked Cui Tian Kai for all the assistance which the Chinese government has provided recently to the FSM, including the new Pohnpei administration building, Kosrae High School and the repairs made on the Chuuk and Yap shipping vessels.
Mori outlined two other major areas in which the FSM currently needed assistance: the first being the connection of all FSM states to the submarine fiber-optic cable for Internet accessibility, and the second being the need to upgrade the country’s sports facilities for the Micronesian Games that will be held in Pohnpei in 2014.
Cui Tian Kai confirmed China’s willingness to provide additional assistance in these areas and welcomed FSM’s submission of concrete project requests.
Next, Mori met with Oh Jin Hee, counselor of South Korea.
The two leaders agreed to attempt developing private sector investment in FSM from Korea, as well as promote FSM tourism in Korea.
Oh Jin Hee stated that the South Korean government needed to propagate information about Micronesia to the Koreans as a first step toward encouraging business development from Korea to FSM.
