In keeping with efforts to support the scholastic endeavors of young Marshallese people, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is pleased to announce the establishment of the DOE Marshall Islands Science Foundation Program (MISFP). The MISFP will award scholarships to highly motivated high school seniors or early entry college students interested in pursuing a college or university education in math and science.

Public hearings were held in Majuro and Ebeye on September 20 and 26, 2013, respectively, to discuss Bill No. 43, also known as the Social Security Amendment Act, 2013. This bill is aimed to amend 18 sections of the Social Security Act of 1990 to provide for changes that will lead to further financial stability of the retirement fund by increasing contributions, decreasing benefits and removing loopholes that trigger benefits to uncontrollably increase.

VIEW: “What to Know about Bill No.43 – The Social Security (Amendment) Act of 2013” (includes graphs and highlights in .docx)

Republic of the Marshall Islands Ambassador to Japan, Ambassador Tom D. Kijiner, today joined three non-APEC Pacific nations in Bali, Indonesia, for a special session organized by APEC chairman President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

Ambassador Kijiner is representing Marshall Islands President Christopher J. Loeak, who presently serves as Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum.

World Media Week-in-Review of Marshall Islands Climate Change Declaration:

YouTube: BBC World News: Interview with Minister de Brum
26 Sept – Minister de Brum joins BBC World News.
Source: British Broadcasting Corporation

Marshall Islands President Pleads in The New York Times: Don't Let Us Drown
26 Sept – The latest president to pen an op-ed in a major American newspaper is not calling for diplomacy in handling military or nuclear threats, as Presidents Vladimir Putin of Russia and Hassan Rouhani of Iran have done in the last month. This president is asking the world to work together to keep his country from drowning.
Source: National Journal

A delegation of twelve people from the National Taipei Education University will come to the RMI to promote cultural exchanges between the RMI and the ROC (Taiwan) by sharing traditional Taiwanese diabolo-playing techniques with the local Marshallese community. They are scheduled to visit Majuro from the 8th to 11th of October 2013.

Christopher J. Loeak, President of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, addressed the general debate of the sixty-eighth session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, New York, on September 26. The President opened his remarks expressing concern over the fact that the General Assembly “poetic ritual too often buries the true degree of necessary political will”.

READ SPEECH: President of the Republic of the Marshall Islands Christopher J. Loeak, UN General Debate, 68th General Assembly

Marshall Islands taekwondo competitor Jason Sam won the gold medal at the the 2013 Pacific Mini Games held earlier this month, benefitting from world-class taekwondo training at the National Taiwan Sport University (NTSU).  Jason credits his NTSU training with his outstanding Pacific Mini Games performance.

The President of the Republic of the Marshall Islands Christopher J. Loeak met with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon prior to the high-level General Assembly debate which started in New York on Tuesday. During the meeting,  held last Sunday at the UN Headquarters, the RMI President and Secretart-General discussed ways to strengthen the partnership between the United Nations and the Pacific island nations.

According to a readout of the meeting, Mr. Ban congratulated President Christopher J. Loeak, whose country assumed the Chairmanship of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation between countries of the Pacific Ocean.

In fiscal years 2007 through 2011, the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) spent at least half their compact sector funds in the education and health sectors. Because both countries spent significant amounts of compact funds on personnel in the education and health sectors, the U.S.-FSM and U.S.-RMI joint management and accountability committees capped budgets for personnel in these sectors at fiscal year 2011 levels due to concerns about the sustainability of sector budgets as compact funding continues to decline through fiscal year 2023.

VIEW REPORT –  Compacts of Free Association: Micronesia and the Marshall Islands Continue to Face Challenges Measuring Progress and Ensuring Accountability

During a courtesy call by US Secretary of Interior Sally Jewell on Friday, September 6, 2013, President Loeak conveyed greetings of “Iokwe” and a warm welcome to Secretary Jewell, on behalf of the people and Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands. He described Secretary Jewell’s visit to Majuro as a very important one, not only for all Pacific Islands Forum members, but especially the Marshall Islands, given our historical relationship. Secretary Jewell’s visit to the Republic of the Marshall Islands was her first international trip after she became the newly appointed Secretary of Interior in April.  

 On September 5, 2013, the Leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) adopted the Majuro Declaration for Climate Leadership. According to the Majuro Declaration website,“the Declaration captures the Pacific’s political commitment to be a region of Climate Leaders, and to spark a “new wave of climate leadership” that can deliver a safe climate future for all.”

MAJURO DECLARATION FOR CLIMATE LEADERSHIP

1. Climate change has arrived. It is the greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and well-being of the peoples of the Pacific and one of the greatest challenges for the entire world.

FORTY-FOURTH PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM
MAJURO, REPUBLIC OF THE MARSHALL ISLANDS
3 – 5 SEPTEMBER 2013
FORUM COMMUNIQUÉ
PACIFIC ISLANDS FORUM SECRETARIAT

The Forty-Fourth Pacific Islands Forum was held in Majuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands, from 3 – 5 September 2013 and was attended by Heads of State and Government of the Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu.

The Director for the Secretariat of the Pacific Community's (SPC) North Regional office based in Pohnpei, Mr. Gerald Zackios, is back on island making his round of calls and meeting with Government heads. He will be accompanying the SPC Director General to this week's 44th Pacific Islands Forum meeting on Majuro.

Final preparations are underway for the 44th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders’ meeting, to be held in Majuro, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), from September 3 to 6.

As usual, this year’s Forum meeting will bring together the Leaders of the Pacific Island countries, Australia and New Zealand. The PIF members will be joined by delegations from their 13 Post-Forum Dialogue Partners, including the United States, China, Japan, Canada, the Republic of Korea and India, as well as the EU and Member states France, Italy and the United Kingdom. After its recent “pivot to the Pacific”, it is anticipated that Secretary of State John Kerry will lead the US delegation.

New Website: www.majurodeclaration.org

The Marshall Islands has a new museum dedicated to the finely woven mats known as jaki-ed. Admission is free and its opening hours are seven days a week, 24 hours a day. That’s because it’s a virtual museum found on the Internet.

The museum is an imaginary place designed to showcase the historic and contemporary mats of the Marshalls. In this wondrous world, you can ’stroll’ through rooms full of historic mats in Britain or Germany, relax in the cinema as you watch a ‘Majuro Productions’ show, or go shopping in the museum store. The museum, found at www.clothingmatsofthemarshalls.com, is the result of many years of work that had its beginnings in 2004 when Maria Fowler, the daughter of Iroij and President Amata Kabua, was in Hawaii with her daughter.