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PALIKIR (June 11, 1997 - PIDP/CPIS) ---The new presidents of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Imata Kabua, and the Federated States of Micronesia, Jacob Nena, will travel to Washington later this month to confer with US government officials about development funding.

Immediately following participation in United Nations General Assembly events in New York, both presidents will meet with Allen Stayman, Director of the US Department of the Interior's Office of Insular Affairs.

Among the matters to be discussed will be preparations for extension of the 15-year US Compacts of Free Association with both the Marshall Islands and the FSM. Negotiations to consider Compact renewal options are scheduled to begin formally in 1999.

The Compacts now in force provide the FSM with US$1.355 billion and the Marshalls with US$958 million in financial assistance. Implemented in 1986, the current Compacts will terminate in the year 2001.

WASHINGTON (June 11, 1997 - PIDP/CPIS) ---The Micronesian headquarters of the US Office of Insular Affairs will move from Palau to the Federated States of Micronesia's capital island of Pohnpei.

Neither the date for the move nor the precise location of the new Pohnpei office, which will be used to continue to serve the three Freely Associated States of Palau, the Marshall Islands, and the FSM, has been set.

An Office of Insular Affairs spokesperson in Washington says the move to Pohnpei is being made because of geographical considerations. Pohnpei is centrally located among the three northern Pacific nations, while Palau is at the western extreme.

The three Micronesian countries formally were part of the US-administered UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, together with the US Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The FSM, Marshall Islands, and Palau now are independent nations, while the Northern Marianas elected to become a part of the United...

PALIKIR (June 2, 1997 - PIDP/CPIS) ---The FSM government wants to make it easier for citizens and nationals of the neighboring republics of Palau and the Marshall Islands to visit the Federated States of Micronesia.

Currently, travelers from other Micronesian countries are issued 30-day FSM visitor's permits, renewable for an additional 30 days.

FSM President Jacob Nena has proposed that the Congress amend the current law to allow Marshallese and Palauan to make visits of up to 365 days, similar to that permitted citizens and nationals of the United States, including visitors from American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

AVARUA (May 31, 1997 - PIDP/CPIS) ---The Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, Sir Geoffrey Henry, also is Minister of Tourism, and he's concerned that local businessmen aren't taking a more active role in developing the Polynesian country's visitor industry.

Envisioning 100,000 revenue-generating visitors a year to the Cooks within a decade, Prime Minister Henry says he's disappointed with the quality of the visitor industry's existing organizational and business plans. They're not yet strong enough, he adds, to allow his government to relinquish control of Tourism Cook Islands to the private sector, as was contemplated several months ago.

He says non-action by the visitor industry "has been a real disappointment to myself and my officials."

Meantime, Sir Geoffrey says there are 918 hotel rooms in the Cook Islands that need to be filled. When the new Vaimaanga Hotel opens, there will be an additional 200 rooms.

The Cook Islands Prime Minister and Minister...