The FSM Government has requested assistance from the Forum Fisheries Agency in evaluating a project proposal to construct a separate and self-sustaining fisheries dock and longline transshipment facility capable of servicing all longline fishing boats in one of the FSM states, Pohnpei State, with cold storage and ice-making capability. Other phases of the proposal include extension of the commercial sea port for an additional 600ft with quay, bulk heads, utilities, fuel lines; and the expansion and improvement of the airport including construction of a 2,500 foot addition to the existing runway, new taxiways and apron, cargo and passenger terminal building, etc. The Micronesian Maritime Authority will work closely with the Agency on the proposal.

The FSM Government is invited to attend the 12th session of the Technical Working Group of the Basel Convention scheduled to be held in Geneva from February 24-28, 1997. The FSM Office of the Attorney General has been requested to represent the FSM in the meeting.

A Second Asia-Pacific Telecommunity Meeting on Regional Cooperation in Standardization has been scheduled for February 18-20, 1997 in Tokyo, Japan, to which the FSM is invited to send a participant.

A Japanese Fisheries Expert, Mr. Masato Oishi, who has been in the FSM under sponsorship by the Overseas Fisheries Cooperation Foundation to conduct several fisheries surveys throughout the FSM, has been requested by the Government of Japan to assist the five-member delegation from Japan. A five-member delegation from Japan arrived in Pohnpei on January 12, 1997 to commence a study on fisheries and infrastructure development in the FSM. The team is scheduled to visit the States of Chuuk and Kosrae for the same purpose.

The FSM Government has nominated the Pohnpei State Chief of Agriculture, Mr. Adelino Lorens, to attend the First Expert Group Consultation on Kava Production and Marketing in the Pacific Islands scheduled to be held at the Forum Secretariat March 3-5, 1997.

The Department has sought further membership information in the World Federation of United Nations Associations (WFUNA) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) through the FSM Permanent Mission in New York, the former on the possibility of establishing an FSM Chapter, Pohnpei State, and the National Historic Preservation Office has inquired about FSM becoming a member of UNESCO in early 1997.

The Department has nominated Mr. Jeem Lippwe, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Multilateral Affairs, Department of External Affairs, to participate in the TCDC National Focal Points Workshop for Asia and the Pacific, in response to an invitation from the United Nations Development Programme's regional office in Suva.

The FSM Government has been invited by the Asian Productivity Organization to participate in eight APO-sponsored development projects. Limited funding is available for non-member countries such as the FSM.

The FSM Government has nominated Mr. Lukner Weilbacher, Secretary of Transportation and Communications, to attend the inaugural meeting of the Pacific Islands Telecommunications Associations (PITA) slated to take place in Honolulu on January 18, 1997.

The Department has been informed by the Australian Embassy in Kolonia of the proposal from the Australian Government to assist the FSM Government in its reporting obligations to the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), to both of which the FSM is a party.

The FSM Government has been requested by the Government of the Republic of Palau to endorse its membership application to the Asian Development Bank.

The FSM Government has been advised by its Embassy in Washington D.C. of an offer by the American Dentists For Foreign Service, Inc. to provide dentistry services to the FSM for short periods, free of charge, except for costs of accommodation and food for those dispatched to the FSM to perform such services. A response to the offer is still pending per advice by the FSM Department of Health Services.

The Department has coordinated input into a database compiled by the Pacific Island Center (PIC) in Tokyo on the names of organizations within the region that trade with Japan. PIC was established based on a decision by the 27th South Pacific Forum held in the RMI to promote trade relations between Japan and the Forum Island Countries.

A 12th Session for the Commission for Marine Meteorology is scheduled to be held in Havana, Cuba, March 10-20, 1997, which the FSM Government has been invited to attend.

The FSM Government is reviewing a possible membership in the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), which may be sought during the upcoming session of the FAO Conference in November 1997. The FSM Department of Resources and Development will provide the necessary recommendations to the question.

The FSM Government has nominated Mr. Nachsa Siren, Administrator for the Division of Environment and Community Health, to represent the FSM in the Fifth Session of the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems, scheduled to be held in Sydney February 17-21, 1997.

H.E. Acting President Jacob Nena, Lady Lerina and Secretary Asterio Takesy are scheduled to attend ceremonies of the Fifth Constitutional Government of the Republic of Palau, scheduled for January 25, 1997. Following the inauguration, a meeting of the Council of Micronesian Chief Executives (CMCE) will meet on January 27, 1997, while the meeting for Senior Policy Advisors will precede the inauguration January 23-24, 1997. Secretary Takesy is scheduled to attend the meeting of Senior Policy Advisors, also staffing the President will be Chief of Staff Tony Otto.

FSM is invited to send in applications to attend a World Trade Organization-sponsored training on Trade Policy, which is slated to take place in Geneva, Switzerland, from August 25 to November 28, 1997.

The FSM Government is participating in the meeting of the Tenth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on the Convention to Combat Desertification, held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The Charge d'Affairs ad interim, Mr. Tadao Sigrah, and the Minister Counsellor, Mr. Mathias Maradol, are representing the FSM Government.