OIA Press Releases (2020 to Present)
Interior Announces Additional Support to the U.S. Virgin Islands
WASHINGTON – Doug Domenech, U.S. Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary, Insular and International Affairs, this week released an additional $198,051 in fiscal year 2018 technical assistance program grants for the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) to help streamline the coordination of recovery assistance on St. Croix and to expand water storage capacity and upgrade irrigation systems in support of farmers on St. Thomas.
Interior Announces $4 Million in Discretionary Compact Impact Funding for Hawaii and Territories in FY 2018
WASHINGTON – Doug Domenech, U.S. Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary, Insular and International Affairs, this week announced an additional $4 million in Compact Impact funding for fiscal year 2018 to be distributed to Hawaii, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), and American Samoa to defray costs and impacts associated with migrants under the Compact of Free Association (Compact), or U.S. Public Law 108-188, to each of these affected jurisdictions.
Interior Funds Annual Economic Reviews and Statistical Updates for Micronesia, Marshall Islands, and Palau
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs supports annual economic and statistical updates in the three freely associated states (FAS) of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI), and the Republic of Palau through the Economic Monitoring and Analysis Program (EconMAP) of Graduate School USA. In August 2018, the EconMAP team published its Fiscal Year 2017 economic briefs for each of the three countries showing that the FSM economy grew by 3.2 percent in FY 2017, while the RMI economy grew by 3.6 percent. Palau, which has experienced a recent reduction in tourism from 147,000 visitors to 122,000 visitors, experienced an overall economic decline of 4.7 percent.
United States and the Federated States of Micronesia Hold Annual Joint Economic Management Committee Meeting
HONOLULU - The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the United States bilateral Joint Economic Management Committee (JEMCO) annual meeting took place Tuesday, August 21, 2018, in Honolulu, Hawaii.
United States and the Republic of the Marshall Islands Hold Annual Joint Economic Management and Financial Accountability Committee Meeting
HONOLULU – Officials from the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) and the United States governments convened in Honolulu for the annual meeting of the Joint Economic Management and Financial Accountability Committee (JEMFAC) on Wednesday, August 22, 2018.
Interior Secretary Zinke Concludes Trip to the Pacific Islands With Visits to the U.S. Territories and Hawaii
WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke has wrapped up his trip to the Pacific Islands where he began in Nauru as head of the U.S. delegation to the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and concluded with stops in Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), American Samoa, and the State of Hawaii before returning back to Washington. While in American Samoa, the traditional leaders bestowed upon him the chiefly title of Fofoga o Samoa, which translates as Voice for Samoa.
Interior Announces $333,572 to Provide Health Care and Public Services for Marshall Islanders in the RMI and in the U.S.
WASHINGTON – Doug Domenech, U.S. Department of the Interior Assistant Secretary, Insular and International Affairs, this week announced $333,572 in fiscal year 2018 technical assistance program grants to bolster the health care program for populations from the four nuclear-affected atolls in the Marshall Islands and to support the Marshallese populations in Arkansas.
2019 Executive Leadership Development Program for Pacific Island Mid-Level Professionals Launches on Guam
WASHINGTON – With funding support from the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs, the Executive Leadership Development Program (ELDP) welcomed 28 island government participants to Guam from August 13 to 17, 2018, as they embarked on a one-year program of personal and professional development.
U.S. Secretary of the Interior Visits Port Moresby
Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea: U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, arrived in Port Moresby on Tuesday, September 4, 2018.
Secretary Zinke Will Lead U.S. Delegation to the Pacific Islands Forum in Nauru
WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke will lead a high-level U.S. government delegation—comprised of senior officials from the White House, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the U.S. Agency for International Development—to the 30th Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders Session with Forum Dialogue Partners on September 4, 2018 in Nauru.