Page 6 - IBs November 2022

Briefs Briefs

hard work of the industry continues to pay off,” Tourism Fiji
CEO Brent Hill said.
American Samoa
The population of American Samoa has decreased below
50,000. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s October
update, the population count came to 49,710, far less French Polynesia
than 56,084 recorded in 2010. The territory’s Commerce President Edouard Fritch says methamphetamine poses a
Department warned, “American Samoa is showing very deep threat to French Polynesia’s society with an estimated
low fertility that warrants immediate attention to policy 10,000 users of the drug in the territory. Fritch also told an
assessment and population impact implications”. international conference on drug trafficking and abuse in
Tahiti attended by delegates from the US, France, Australia
and New Zealand, that methamphetamine users account for
about 10% of patients in the territory’s public health sector.
Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands
Arnold Palacios is CNMI’s new Governor after he and running
mate David Apatang won a run-off against the incumbent,
Ralph Torres and Senator Vinnie Sablan on November 25. Guam
At the time of printing, absentee ballots were still to be Democrat Governor Lou Guerrero and Lt. Governor Joshua
counted, but the Palacios-Apatang lead was insurmountable. Tenorio will run Guam for another four-year term. After all
Palacios said he was humbled by the number of votes they election ballots in the 67 precincts were tabulated, Guerrero
received. and Tenorio led Republican former Gov. Felix Camacho and
Sen. Tony Ada by 18,381 votes to 14,620. “In the next four
years, you will see a new hospital,” Leon Guerrero told
supporters after her victory, saying the new facility will
Cook Islands
New Zealand will provide NZ$200,000 (US$122,000) to support include a new US$32 million military-funded public health
biosafety lab.
Cook Islands’ hosting of the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders
meeting next year. New Zealand Foreign Minister, Nanaia
Mahuta made the pledge during her first ministerial visit to
the Cook Islands last month. Mahuta also announced NZ$7.5 Kiribati
(US$4.58) million in climate finance and NZ$3.8 (US$2.32) Charge de Affaires of the US Embassy in Suva, Tony Greubel,
million in health support through the Polynesian Health said they are hoping to open a U.S. Embassy in Kiribati next
Corridors Programme available to the Cook Islands and five year. “We will be in consultation with your government to
other Pacific nations. determine the appropriate staffing and hopefully we can have
a facility open sooner rather than later, perhaps, hopefully
next year but we’ll see how everything has to go from there.
It’s not talk. We’re actually doing action to get it open,” he
Federated States of Micronesia told Radio Kiribati.
The FSM Election Commission has released the unofficial list
of 30 candidates for the March 7th, 2023 General Election.
The elections will determine the 14 Senators who comprise
the 23rd Congress of the FSM. Four of the Senators will Marshall Islands
represent the States of Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae in an The Marshall Islands Government received US$2 million
“At-Large” capacity, serving for a four-year term. Ten of the from the Republic of China (Taiwan) on November 14 as part
Senators will represent individual election districts within Yap, of their fourth quarter capital project. The funding was
Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Kosrae, serving for a two-year term. presented by ROC (Taiwan) Ambassador, Steve C.C. Hsia to
RMI’s Brenson Wase, Minister of Finance, Banking and Postal
Services. The fund supports a number of infrastructure
Fiji projects the two nations have collaborated on for years,
More than 497,000 visitors travelled to Fiji from January to including the Taiwan Health Center in Majuro.
October this year. In September, visitors from Australia made
up 54% of visitors, followed by New Zealand (28%), North
America (9%) and the UK (1%). 84% of visitors were on holiday.
Hotel occupancy stood at 83% in September. “The collective Nauru
Nauru reported its first locally acquired COVID-19 case since

6 Islands Business, November 2022