United States and the Federated States of Micronesia Hold Annual Joint Economic Management Committee Meeting

Honolulu, HI (September 6, 2017) - The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the United States bilateral Joint Economic Management Committee (JEMCO) annual meeting took place Wednesday, August 30, 2017, in Honolulu, Hawaii.  The Committee members jointly allocated $61 million for the sectors of health, education, public sector capacity building, private sector development, environment and public sector infrastructure as identified under the Compact of Free Association, as amended, for the benefit of the people of the FSM.  The JEMCO promotes the effective use of funding under the Compact, as amended, and provides the opportunity for FSM and U.S. officials to discuss priorities regarding this funding and how best to achieve them.

“The JEMCO meetings this year were productive,” said JEMCO Chairman and Acting Assistant Secretary for Insular Areas Nik Pula. “I am especially pleased to see the FSM and the Army Corps of Engineers collaborating to strengthen the infrastructure program and project management practices.”

The JEMCO members from both the FSM and the U.S. governments:

• Expressed the importance of strong people-to-people ties as the foundation of this special relationship. 
• Reaffirmed that the goal of funding provided under the Amended Compact is for the benefit of the people of the FSM.
• Emphasized the importance of medium term fiscal planning in managing annual declines in Compact grant assistance. 
• Reiterated the importance of advancing education, to strength the FSM’s school accreditation processes, improving access to primary healthcare, and implementing infrastructure projects to contribute to economic advancement, budgetary self-reliance, and sustainable inclusive development.
• Received presentations from FSM state and national government education and health officials on ongoing initiatives within the health and education sectors.
• Recognized ongoing efforts by the FSM to continue to develop a set of clear, simple, measurable indicators for health and education and encouraged the FSM to identify resources to systematically produce, gather, and reliably report upon these indicators.
• Received a presentation from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding ongoing collaborative efforts with the FSM in strengthening infrastructure program and project management practices.

The JEMCO allocated Fiscal Year 2018 Compact assistance to the following sectors:

                                                $  25,629,189  Education
                                                $  22,741,227 Health
                                                $ 1,904,232     Public Sector Capacity Building
                                                $ 1,788,283     Environment
                                                $ 1,247,513     Private Sector Development
                                                $ 1,528,408     Enhanced Reporting and Accountability
                                                $ 2,600,000     Public Sector Infrastructure

The JEMCO additionally allocated “prior-year” unexpended Compact assistance to the following sectors:

                                                $ 1,817,735     Education
                                                $ 1,215,611     Health
                                                $ 348,298        Public Sector Capacity Building
                                                $ 629,500        Private Sector Development
 

JEMCO passed the following resolutions:

JEMCO 2017-1 Support of Education Personnel Policies

JEMCO 2017-2 Recurrent, Operational Expenditures within the Private Sector Development, Environment and Public Sector Capacity Building Sectors

JEMCO 2017-3 FY2018 Compact Grant Allocations (see above)                       

The JEMCO will reconvene for its mid-year meeting in the Spring of 2018.  The JEMCO members are Chairman Nikolao Pula (U.S.- Department of the Interior), Vice Chairman Lorin Robert (FSM - Secretary of Foreign Affairs), Leo Falcam Jr.  (FSM - Chief of Staff to the President), William Gallo (U.S. - Health and Human Services), and Philip Roskamp (U.S. -  State Department).

The Secretary of the Interior is responsible for coordinating federal policy with respect to the territories of the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and administering and overseeing U.S. federal assistance provided under the Compact of Free Association to the freely associated states of the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.  The Assistant Secretary for Insular Areas executes these responsibilities, on behalf of the Secretary, through the Office of Insular Affairs whose mission is to foster economic opportunities, promote government efficiency, and improve the quality of life for the people of the insular areas.

###