President Mori to Attend 2009 Conference on Business Opportunities in the IslandsPalikir, Pohnpei (FSM Information Services): March 20, 2009 - President Manny Mori is scheduled to be a speaker at the 2009 Conference on Business Opportunities in the Islands, sponsored by The U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs. The conference will be held at the Waikiki Sheraton in Honolulu April 6-8, 2009. Among those speaking will be Dr. Richard Kelley, Chairman of the Board, Outrigger Enterprises Group; Lt. General Wallace "Chip" Gregson, USMC (Ret.), former commander, Marine Forces Pacific; Maj. General David Bice, USMC (Ret.), Director of the Joint Guam Program Office; and Dr. Stephen Schneider of Stanford University, who has authored many papers for the prestigious Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In 2007, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore and several other IPCC contributors, including Dr. Schneider, received the Nobel Peace Prize. They will be joining the leaders of the U.S.-affiliated Pacific islands and business and government officials at the conference, including President Manny Mori of the Federated States of Micronesia, Governor Felix Camacho of Guam, Governor Togiola Tulafono of American Samoa, Governor Benigno Fitial of the Northern Mariana Islands, Congressman Eni Faleomavaega of American Samoa, Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo of Guam, and Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan of the Northern Mariana Islands. The conference is the Department of the Interior's primary event to promote economic development in the U.S. territories and freely associated states and will feature discussions of new developments in renewable energy, infrastructure projects, and tourism opportunities. Attendees will have the opportunity to develop their networks, while learning about the growing business sectors and investment opportunities in American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, the Marshall Islands, Palau, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Featured topics at this year's conference will include:
The conference will also include several networking events and, most importantly, prearranged one-on-one meetings, offering participants an opportunity to meet directly to discuss joint ventures. FSM hopes to meet with potential foreign investors and inform them of the benefits of investing in business opportunities in the FSM, especially in light of the military build-up in Guam, which will bring thousands of more potential tourists to the FSM in the near future. |