OIA Press Releases (2020 to Present)

First Education Summit on Ebeye Aims to Empower Marshallese Communities in Focus on Children’s Education

05/12/2017

Kwajalein Atoll, Marshall Islands (May 12, 2017) - A first of its kind, the Kwajalein Atoll Education Summit took place April 26 and 27 on Ebeye Island, Kwajalein Atoll, in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI).  The Summit was themed “Charting our Course: Our Child, Our Hope” and provided a venue for meaningful presentations, workshops and dialogue to take place around improving education for the children of Kwajalein Atoll. 

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White House and Interior Senior Officials Host Territory Governors at Interagency Group on Insular Areas (IGIA)

02/24/2017

Deputy Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs Justin R. Clark, Senior White House Advisor Douglas W. Domenech, and Acting Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Insular Areas Nikolao I. Pula Jr. met with Guam Governor Eddie Calvo, U.S. Virgin Islands Governor Kenneth Mapp and American Samoa Governor Lolo Moliga at the 2017 Senior Plenary Session of the Interagency Group on Insular Areas. 

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Northern Mariana Islands to Receive $5 Million in CIP Funding to Continue Rehabilitation at Saipan Power Plant and Improve Fuel Waste Management System

02/21/2017

WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 21, 2017) – Acting Assistant Secretary for Insular Areas Nikolao Pula has approved $5 million in fiscal year 2017 CIP funding for the Commonwealth Utilities Corporation (CUC) in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) for the repair of fuel storage tanks at the CUC which fail to meet required standards of the American Petroleum Institute.

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United States Transmits $7.5 Million In Compact Grant Funding to the Republic of Palau

02/03/2017

WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 3, 2017) – The Acting Assistant Secretary for Insular Areas Nikolao Pula has authorized grant payments totaling $7,542,690 to the Republic of Palau.  Continuing appropriations provided by the U.S. Congress thus far for fiscal year 2017 will support operational activities for the Palau government.  Since the financial provisions of the Compact of Free Association expired in 2009, an annual amount of $13,147,000 has been extended to Palau beginning in 2010. 

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U.S. and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Special Representatives Transmit 902 Consultations Report to Congress

01/17/2017

WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 17, 2017) – U.S. Special Representative Esther Kia’aina and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Special Representative, Governor Ralph Torres, transmitted the 902 Consultations Report to Congressional leaders today.  The report is the culmination of eight months of official consultations, informal discussions, and site visits to locations in the CNMI, a U.S. territory in the Western Pacific region.

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Department of the Interior bison seal set against green mountainous background.

U.S. and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands Special Representatives Transmit 902 Consultations Report to Congress

01/17/2017

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 6, 2016) – In all-day meetings at the White House today, Interior Assistant Secretary for Insular Areas Esther Kia’aina, Special Representative for the United States, began the first in a series of official consultations with Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) Governor  Ralph DLG. Torres, the Special Representative for the CNMI.  Known as 902 Consultations, the discussions are authorized by Section 902 of the Covenant to Establish the CNMI in Political Union with the United States of America, which provides that the Government of the United States and the Government of the Northern Mariana Islands will consult regularly on all matters affecting the relationship between them, not less frequently than every ten years.

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