Well,
Prime Minister, thank you very much. Thank you for this beautiful
memento of the Cook Islands and the bounty of the ocean that you are
working to preserve. And let me thank you and your wife for the very
warm welcome that I and my delegation have received. I’m very pleased
that I could be the first Secretary of State to come here to attend the
Pacific Islands Forum, and I can only say that my predecessors were
really missing out in a very big way. (Applause.)
I want to
commend you and your government for the excellent leadership you have
provided to the Forum. The summary of accomplishments that you read out
to us at the Post Forum Dialogue was most impressive. I particularly
commend you for the efforts that went in to resolving the boundary
dispute and reaching agreement. That is an example that I hope other
parts of the world will follow. And I also congratulate you on the
announcement of such a significant conservation commitment. I hope that
is also an example that the rest of the world will follow.
I think
there is so much that many of us can learn from the Pacific Islands
nations and certainly much that we have to pay attention to about
preserving and promoting the sustainability for the people who have
lived here, say, the millennia. And we look forward to being your
partner. I am delighted that I’ve had a chance to be here to see the
opportunities as well as the challenges and to work toward responding to
the priorities that were discussed with me at the breakfast today.
Let
me just briefly mention a few of the areas where we want to enhance,
deepen, and broaden our participation with you. First, on climate
change, we understand very well that many of the countries are only a
few feet above sea level, and they aren’t big enough to be able to adapt
to climate change quickly. So we have to do what we can now to try to
combat the effects.
I’ve announced two new programs through USAID –
the first to target vulnerable coastal areas. We will provide $25
million over the next five years to help communities improve their
infrastructure, enhance their ability to respond to natural disasters,
and create long-term plans to adapt to climate change. The second
program will help improve clean energy infrastructure across the Pacific
Islands. We will provide training and education for technicians and
engineers to install, maintain, and repair solar energy equipment.
Next,
the United States recognizes the vital importance of sustainable
fisheries for Pacific nations, not only central to traditional culture
but to economies and food security. We share a commitment to sustainable
fishery management and to fighting illegal, unreported, and unregulated
fishing. We will work to extend the Tuna Treaty, to support the western
and central Pacific fisheries commission, and the Forum’s fisheries
agencies. And as I mentioned earlier today with both Admiral’s Ray and
Locklear, we are expanding our Shiprider program to improve law
enforcement throughout the region. Since 2009, we have had a program
with a number of the nations on Coast Guard vessels, in fact, just since
2009, Kiribati has recovered $4 million in fines riding on Coast Guard –
U.S. Coast Guard vessels. We’re now expanding the Shiprider program to
U.S. naval vessels and looking forward to even more nations.
Finally,
we want to make sure that the marine resources are there for future
generations, and I want to congratulate the Cook Islands again because
you are really thinking ahead about what needs to be done, establishing
that world’s largest marine park. I also want to congratulate New
Caledonia for its initiative to establish a marine protected area. And
today, I’ve announced that the United States and Kiribati will be
working together on conservation efforts in the Pacific Remote Islands
Marine National Monument, and the Scenic Islands Protected Area. We
announced this new partnership through a joint Statement of Intent this
week, and it really does support initiatives envisioned by the Pacific
Island Forum leaders to enhance the protection, the preservation, and
conservation of marine ecosystems.
We are also interested in
conservation efforts in the Ross Sea region in Antarctica, one of the
last great marine wilderness areas on the planet, an area of long-term
investment and scientific study, and we are working with other Pacific
countries, in particular New Zealand, for establishing Antarctic marine
protected areas, including one in the Ross Sea, which would be the
largest in the world. We look forward to the proposals that will be
submitted to the commission for the conservation of Antarctic marine
living resources later this year.
One other way we are promoting
conservation is that over a year ago, the State Department launched the
International Diaspora Engagement Alliance – we call it IDEA. It brings
together governments, corporation, and nonprofits to make it easier for
diaspora communities worldwide to promote trade and investment that
starts in business or develops other projects that will benefit their
country of origin. We have developed programs in Africa, the Caribbean,
and Latin America that facilitate investment and trade in those regions.
Now we are launching the Pacific Islands IDEA marketplace to foster
collaboration between local entrepreneurs and members of the Pacific
Islands diaspora. Because we think working together to bring more
attention to all that is available here and across the region will
really help with economic development. So we will offer entrepreneurs
access to capital as well as technical assistance if they are committed
to investing in their countries of origin or heritage.
So once
again, I want to thank the Prime Minister, the Government of the Cook
Islands and all of you for your commitment and partnership, and I
especially want to thank you for the very warm welcome not only last
night at the airport, which was enormous fun.
I’ve been – I’ve had
pictures taken of me all over the world dancing in various places, and I
promised my staff no more dancing, and then I see all of the excited
dancers on the tarmac, it was, believe me, very hard. (Laughter.) So I
restrained myself with great difficulty. The Minister of Tourism however
did it for all of us. He was excellent, I have to say.
But the
friendly faces, the waves, the greetings of the people here will be long
remembered by the very large delegation that has accompanied me. And I
think I can guarantee you, Prime Minister, that many, many more
Americans will have knowledge of and a favorable impression of the Cook
Islands. Thank you all very much. (Applause.)
