In his letter to Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown last week, Remengesau said he believes that Pacific unity will be maintained if the informal arrangement between leaders is respected. To maintain that unity, Remengesau is asking the Cook Islands to support the agreement.
“Prime Minister, Palau sees this appointment as a decision of critical importance. PIF member states have put forward top quality candidates, and we should be proud of the leadership depth in this region,” the president said
The Micronesian candidate for PIF secretary general is Gerald Zackios, the Marshall Islands ambassador to the United Nations.
The other candidates are Fiji’s Ratu Inoke Kubuabola, Tongan economist Amelia Kinahoi Siamomua, former head of the Pacific Community Jimmy Rodgers of the Solomon Islands and former Cook Islands Prime Minister Henry Puna.
Remengesau said the Micronesia’s bid doesn’t mean that Puna is not qualified for the secretary general’s position, but the appointment is about a united Pacific. “This appointment is not merely an issue of individual credentials: it’s an issue of Pacific unity. The gentlemen’s agreement on sub-regional rotation is an important symbol to our region, and to our larger world.”
The president said the rejection of the gentleman’s agreement and the Micronesian candidate could send a wrong message to the world about a unified Pacific.
He said for years, the gentlemen’s agreement stood as a testament that Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia stand together.
He said Palau stood by the Cook Islands bilaterally and hoped the nation would do the same.
Remengesau said he has asked the same support from Tuvalu and Solomon Islands leaders in separate letters.
