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President Mori and Members of the FSM Delegation to UN General Assembly Met with Jewish Leaders in NY to Strengthen Friendship

New York (FSM Permanent Mission to the UN): 28 September 2009 - While in New York to participate in the 64th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, President Emanuel Mori and the members of his delegation took time to meet with Jewish leaders from the American Jewish Committee (AJC) and the B'nai Brith International (BBI) to further strengthen their friendship and to discuss possible areas of cooperation in the near future. The annual interface, especially with officers of the AJC, has become a routine activity for the FSM delegation at the margins of the UNGA Session.

Owing in part to its Judeo-Christian tradition, the FSM Government has been an ardent supporter of the State of Israel at the United Nations and other international organizations, particularly on the annual resolutions that are critical of Israel. The FSM's almost unparallel voting record at the UN has been a central feature of its foreign policy.

In the past, the American Jewish Committee has extended humanitarian assistance to victims of natural disasters in the FSM. It has also collaborated with other organizations in facilitating cultural exchange and in the dispatch of doctors and ophthalmologists to the FSM. The AJC assumes the role of an "informal point of connection" in the "triangular" relationship between the FSM, Israel, and the US.

The participants in this year's AJC meeting covered a wide range of issues, including the 20-year amended Compact of Free Association between the FSM and US and the review of its five years. The five-year review is already underway, and a report is expected to be completed by the end of this year by the US executive branch.

President Mori expressed appreciation to the AJC for any guidance that its members would be in a position to extend to the FSM in the review of the Compact. The other issue of high priority for the FSM that was discussed in the New York meeting was the need to improve health and education, and to acquire broadband connectivity capacity by way of fiber optic cable, which is essential to the country's socio-economic objectives, especially in the areas of health, education, and private sector development.

Recognizing the FSM's strong and consistent support to Israel, as well as the "triangular relationship" between the FSM, Israel, and the United States, AJC Vice President Ambassador Peter R. Rosenblatt said that his organization is "anxious" to reciprocate FSM's support, adding that the friendship between the three countries is a "high priority." Ambassador Rosenblatt was the US chief negotiator of the original Compact during the administration of President Jimmy Carter.

High-level officials of the FSM Government have also met with officials of the BBI in previous years. The special bond of friendship that Israel and the Jewish people have for the FSM government and the Micronesian people was also stressed by BBI President Moishe Smith and BBI Vice Chair on UN Affairs Aaron Etra in the meetings that they had with the members of President Mori’s delegation, which included Secretary of Foreign Affairs Lorin S. Robert, FSM Permanent Representative to the UN, H.E. Ambassador Masao Nakayama, and FSM Ambassador to the US, H.E. Yosiwo P. George, who has been accepted for cross-accreditation to Israel ex Washington DC.