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Federated States of Micronesia President Wesley Simina (left) and New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters. August 12, 2024
photo: RNZ Pacific/Caleb Fotheringham
The President of the Federated States of Micronesia formally held his first bilateral meeting with a New Zealand government minister on Tuesday.
The meeting was part of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ Pacific tour of the Micronesia sub-region ahead of the 53rd Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Summit in Tonga later this month.
The Federated States of Micronesia consists of four island nations separated by vast oceans.
Peters said he hoped the meeting would be the beginning of a closer relationship.
“Perhaps because of the distance we haven’t paid as much attention to this issue as we have to Polynesia or Melanesia, and I think that’s indisputable, but we are now making up for that,” he told Radio New Zealand Pacific.
“Even though they (Micronesia) are far, far away from us, they are all part of the blue continent and we need to continue to engage.”
In recent years, Micronesian leaders Feeling excluded from the Pacific’s highest political decision-making bodyPacific Islands Forum.
In February 2021, Micronesian candidate Gerald Zackios was defeated by former Cook Islands Prime Minister Henry Puna for the top post in the forum. This led to Micronesian leaders threatening to withdraw from the forum altogether.
Peters said he discussed with Federated States of Micronesia President Wesley Simina the importance of joint decision-making at the forum.
“We try to act collectively, share ideas and make decisions together,” he said.
“Don’t all go down a different path and then when a better view comes up in the Pacific Islands Forum we find we can’t change our established position.
“They agree that we have to work together.”
This was the first bilateral meeting between a New Zealand Minister and the President of the Federated States of Micronesia in the Federated States of Micronesia. 14 August 2024
photo: RNZ Pacific/Caleb Fotheringham
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New Zealand will provide NZ$4.4 million to a UNICEF-led project to improve early childhood development outcomes in the North Pacific region.
Cromwell Bakaresa, UNICEF’s field officer for the North Pacific, said the biggest challenge facing the organization is the high cost of long-distance travel.
“Micronesia is so large that (the name) can be misleading because ‘micro’ means ‘small,’ but if you think about it, the area we cover in the North Pacific, including Palau, the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia, is even larger than the continental United States.”
The Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau have compacts of free association with the United States.
The United States provides economic aid to these three countries, and in return it obtains military access and control.
Bakaresa said there is a misconception that with these agreements, additional help is not needed.
“There’s a misconception that ‘hey, you’ve got support from the United States, you’re being taken care of,’ but if you look at it, the health indicators for children there are worrisome.
“The incidence of NCDs (non-communicable diseases) is still high, 80 per cent of adults are obese and more than 50 per cent of children are obese. I think there is still a lot we can do.”
He said there were also challenges in providing education.
Education Minister Gardenia Esek said the country had been in need of additional support.
She said the country was grateful for support for education scholarships from New Zealand, Australia, Japan and China.
But Isaac said she feels Micronesia is often forgotten when talking about the wider Pacific.
“You always hear about what’s happening in the south,” especially in Fiji, but not so much in Micronesia
“But I think with the UN agencies coming here, there will be more happening in the North Pacific.”
Peters will continue on Wednesday to Palau, where he will meet with Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr.
This was the last stop on his four-stop Pacific tour.
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