OIA Press Releases (2020 to Present)

Interior Deputy Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Nakoa moderates a panel on Marine Protected Areas at Our Ocean Palau 2022

Interior Deputy Assistant Secretary Keone Nakoa Promotes Traditional, Community-Led Initiatives for Conservation at Our Ocean Conference in Palau

04/15/2022

WASHINGTON – The United States (U.S.) Department of the Interior’s Deputy Assistant Secretary Keone Nakoa recently concluded a trip to the Republic of Palau where he participated in the seventh Our Ocean Conference, held from April 13 to 14, 2022. Themed “Our Ocean, Our People, Our Prosperity”, the Conference featured numerous panels where DAS Nakoa hosted the Marine Protected Areas panel, highlighting the importance of collaborating with traditional and community leaders for the long-term and inter-generational success of natural resource and ocean conservation globally as well as in the Insular Areas. 

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2021-2022 ELDP Graduates photo

Interior’s OIA Congratulates the 2021-2022 ELDP Graduates

04/06/2022

OIA congratulates twenty-three new Pacific Islands graduates who successfully completed the Executive Leadership Development Program (ELDP) and participated in a commencement ceremony on Thursday. March, 10, 2022. Participants represented American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.

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Department of the Interior’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs, Keone Nakoa, traveled to Palau and Guam last week

Deputy Assistant Secretary Nakoa Meets Island Leaders in Palau, Guam

03/31/2022

Last week, the United States (U.S.) Department of the Interior’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs, Keone Nakoa, traveled to Palau and Guam last week, where he met with President Surangel Whipps, Jr. in Palau and Governor Lourdes “Lou” Leon Guerrero on Guam, among other meetings. This trip marks Nakoa’s first trip to these island areas since he assumed his role as Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Biden-Harris administration and the first from Interior leadership since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Biden Proposes $736 Million in the 2023 FY Budget for the U.S. Territories and the Freely Associated States

03/28/2022

The President’s budget for fiscal year 2023, includes $736 million in funding for the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs (OIA). The proposal would fund initiatives benefiting fellow Americans in the U.S. territories and also includes funding for U.S. allies in the Pacific who have a Compact of Free Association (COFA) with the United States.

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Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs Announces $1.8 Million for the Four Atoll Healthcare Program in the Marshall Islands

02/28/2022

OIA announces $1,876,297 in fiscal year 2022 Technical Assistance Program (TAP) funding to the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Ministry of Health and Human Services for the Four Atoll Healthcare Program. The program provides primary healthcare services for communities from the four nuclear-affected atolls of Bikini, Enewetak, Rongelap, and Utrok in the Marshall Islands. The funding will include support for women’s and children wellness, vision, vaccinations, screening for non-communicable diseases, education and outreach on non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, along with an increase in support for dentists and dental equipment. 

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