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OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
PRESS RELEASE
(for immediate release – Monday, July 28, 2008)
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Gov. Togiola participates in US delegation with Secretary Rice at
Foreign Ministers meeting in Samoa
 (UTULEI) – Governor Togiola Tulafono last Saturday participated in a Foreign Ministers meeting as part of the US Delegation, headed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
The meeting at Aggie’s Lagoon Resort in Mulifanua was hosted by the Independent State of Samoa.
The meeting started promptly at 1:30 pm with the arrival of Secretary Rice after a brief private discussion with Samoa Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sa’ilele Malielegaoi.
In attendance were fifteen foreign ministers, all members of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, including delegates from Australia, Fiji, Samoa, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Tonga, Tuvalu, Guam, New Zealand, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Palau and Papua New Guinea.
Also participating as a member of the US Delegation was the Honorable Felix Camacho, Governor of Guam. Three senior staff members of the Secretary of State rounded out the rest of the US Delegation.
Among the topics of discussion at the meeting were Maritime Security, Food and Energy Security and Global Climate Change. Secretary Rice stated emphatically that the US is a Pacific nation that is committed to the development of Pacific islands, their economies and their security.
Secretary Rice also presented a number of initiatives that the United States has spearheaded as part of the American support for the Pacific, including the establishment of a regional environmental office as part of the US Office is Suva, Fiji; a new project headed by both the US and New Zealand known as the Energy Development Partnership and the Island Nations Initiative. The focus of these projects is the development of clean energy alternatives.
Secretary Rice also issued a statement concerning the US position on Fiji elections. The US, as a staunch supporter of democracy, would like to see the Fiji military government hold elections, as promised in March of 2009.
Governor Togiola expressed his delight on being a part of the US delegation at the Samoa meeting.
“That our protector and benefactor is taking a serious look at the Pacific, is something that we’ve advocated for many years. This visit by Secretary Rice, and her recognition of Governor Camacho and myself as part of the US Delegation is a welcome development and we will support this type of engagement in any way we can,” said Governor Togiola.
Governor Togiola also said the discussion centering on global climate change is also timely as it was only last year that American Samoa hosted the Coral Reef Task Force meeting and American Samoa took the lead in adopting stringent climate change initiatives which he set forth in an executive order.
“I applaud the Bush Administration for their efforts at deeper engagement in the Pacific and I encourage further development of Pacific initiatives along the lines the Secretary discussed in our meeting. As always, the Territory of American Samoa stands ready to assist its parent nation in any such endeavor into the future,” said Governor Togiola.
---americansamoa.gov---
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