Government of the Federated States of Micronesia

Ambassador Takesy Represents FSM at Region IX Meeting in San Francisco and Meets with Citizens in San Diego

Washington, D.C. (FSM Information Services): March 8, 2012 - The Government of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) was represented at the combined meetings of Region IX of the Federal Regional Council (FRC) and the Micronesian Chief Executives Summit (MCES) that were held in San Francisco from 01 March - 02 March 2012. Region IX is a San Francisco-based coalition of approximately 15 US departments and agencies operating or providing services in the constituent members of the coalition, which includes California, Nevada, Arizona, Hawaii and the US Pacific territories (Guam, American Samoa, and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) as well as the Freely Associated States (FAS) of the FSM, Palau, and the RMI.

The MCES is comprised of the Presidents of the FAS and the governors of the three US Pacific territories. The FAS and US territories are drawn together by their common denominators as Micronesians that include close and historic ties with the US, shared cultural traits and geographical factors, economic development challenges and historical experience.

The combined meetings in San Francisco consisted of two parts. The first part which included all participants focused on economic development and strategies of sustainability. The second part was devoted to one-on-one meetings on specific topics for each of the participating territorial and FAS governments. The one-on-one meetings with Ambassador Takesy included two separate briefings provided by an official of the Interior Department's Office of Insular Affairs and a representative of the Social Security Administration.

After the FRC/MCES meeting in San Francisco, Ambassador Takesy, as part of the Embassy's Citizen Outreach and Advocacy Program (COAP) flew south to meet with the FSM citizens residing in San Diego and surrounding areas. San Diego has a sizable community of FSM citizens and is one of the "older" Micronesian communities on the US mainland, dating back to the mid-1970s when the now defunct United States International University (USIU) was one of the popular choices of higher institutions for Micronesians to attend, especially after the Maui (Hawaii) campus of the USIU was closed down. The San Diego community was steadily expanded when the "settlers" starting bringing over their family members mainly to attend schools. Religious fellowship, as represented by the based Micronesian Outreach Mission USA (MOMUSA), has served as a support network for the San Diego community and continued to do so when the Micronesian community of Southern California expanded to Pasadena and Los Angeles.

Designed and implemented about five years ago, the COAP is part and parcel of the Embassy's consular functions especially in light of the unique migration provisions of the Compact treaty between the FSM and the US. Thus, the "townhall" meeting in San Diego enabled the citizens to share with Ambassador Takesy their practical experiences in residing in the US under the terms of the Compact treaty. The Ambassador also seized the opportunity to brief the citizens on the leading events or developments back in the FSM and to impress upon the citizens the critical importance to be law-abiding and contributing members of their adoptive community while continuing to provide help to their families and communities in the FSM.

"It is more than an honor that the Ambassador takes the time to visit us," says John Akapito of Chuuk, a long-time resident of California, who is directing an English-as-Second-Language (ESL) program at one of the colleges in San Diego. "We need to be informed citizens, and we appreciate exchanging views with Ambassador Takesy on how we can be responsible FSM citizens to our host country and our own," Akapito concludes.