Apia,
Samoa (MTC Interim Secretary: September 3, 2014).
On September 3,
2014, the Presidents Manny Mori of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM),
Christopher Loeak of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Thomas Remengesau
Jr. of the Republic of Palau, officially formalized their historical trade and
economic bonds by signing the Treaty establishing the Micronesian Trade and
Economic Community (MTEC). The signing took place in the margins of the 3rd
International Conference on Small Island Developing States, during a
consultative breakfast Meeting between Pacific Island Countries’ Leaders and
Dr. Shamshad Akhtar, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and
Executive Secretary of ESCAP.
The vision and
goals of the Treaty are to “…endeavor
towards the creation of a Micronesian Trade and economic community through the
promotion of sub-regional trade and economic cooperation and integration to
support the achievement of sustainable and equitable socio-economic development
of its Member States and improve the standard and quality of life of their
People, thus contributing to the progress and development of Asia and the
Pacific Region.”
In their
statements following the signing, the three Presidents emphasized the
historical importance of the signing event. President Mori underscored the
significance of the Treaty and characterized it as a “true reflection of the Micronesian spirit of collaboration which
characterized the relations between the three entities.” He indicated that
the Treaty provides the appropriate institutional framework through which
producers of the three countries could network and meet the demands of the
domestic and international markets, in particular for agriculture, aquaculture,
and tourism products. Furthermore, President Mori noted that there were
provisions in the Treaty allowing the sisters Republics of Kiribati, Nauru, and
the Territories of Guam and Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands to join at
a later stage.
President Loeak noted
that “the signing occasion marked a
significant milestone for the three Nations in their efforts to fully integrate
trade and economic initiatives.” He also stressed that “the Micronesian Trade and Economic cooperation and integration
initiative constituted a building block towards greater integration of the
three Countries in the Pacific, Asia and the global economy as envisaged in the
New Framework for Pacific Regionalism.”
Taking the
example of the copra industry, which collapsed in Palau 20 years ago, President
Remengesau Jr. stressed that through sub-regional trade and economic
cooperation and integration pursued under the treaty, it would be possible for
productive sector to consolidate the volume of the products available, and thus
increase the raw material available to support the development of small
industries.
The Presidents
of the three Countries commended the partnership between the MTC Interim
Secretariat and technical agencies (the Commonwealth Secretariat-EU funded Hub
& Spokes Programme II, ESCAP, the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, and
the Melanesian Spearhead Group Secretariat), which led to the development of
the Treaty; and invited Development Partners present, among which Australia and
the United States of America, to lend their support to the successful
implementation of the Treaty. The Deputy Secretary General of the Pacific
Islands Forum Secretariat, Ms. Cristelle Pratt, commended the FSM, RMI, and
Palau for their sub-regional integration efforts, and re-affirmed PIFS’ unwavering
support for the implementation phase of the Treaty.
The signing of
the Treaty was attended by the Prime Minister of Samoa and President of the 3rd
International Conference on SIDS, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, as well as Presidents
and Prime Ministers of the Cook Island, Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga, Vanuatu and Tuvalu.
For
more information please contact the Interim Secretariat (FSM Department of
Resources and Development), at telephone number (691) 320-5133.
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