 President completes FSM visit in home StatePALIKIR, Pohnpei (FSM Information Service): February 21, 2003 - President Leo A. Falcam set sail on February 19, for the Western islands of Pohnpei as the final leg of his State Visit to the whole of the Federated States of Micronesia. The President had recently returned the previous week from his visit to the Southern outlying islands of Pohnpei State - Sapwuahfik, Nukuoro and Kapingamarangi. His visits had always restated to the outlying islands of the nation the three underpinning objectives of his Administration:
The President had emphasized early in his Administration that the underlying strength of the nation lies in the unity and cooperation of all its citizens. He had stressed the importance of meeting with the FSM citizens, "especially for the citizens unable to visit the nations capital, we must take their government to see them and discuss issues of immediate relevance with them." The whole of FSM is an expanse of more than one million square miles of Pacific Ocean which connects its 600 plus islands categorized under each of the four States. With the exception Kosrae, each State is centered on one or more main high islands with numerous outer atolls most of which are accessible only by boat. President Falcam had began his State Visits in the State of Yap and most of its outlying atolls, followed in sequence by the States of Kosrae, Pohnpei proper and Chuuk during which most of the outlying atolls were visited. The visit to Mwoakilloa and Pingelap concludes the four-year mission of the President's Administration to meet with the citizens of the widely scattered FSM nation. The President and his Cabinet are accompanied by officials from the national, state and municipal governments on the FSS Caroline Voyager and the FSS Independence. President Falcam and his delegation are expected back in Pohnpei on February 22, 2003. |