U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke said the compact agreement was an important part of the Pacific`s national security strategy to maintain stability in the western Pacific. “After many years of waiting, the United States and Palau can finally celebrate the end of the first review and amendment process, as advocated by the Free Union Pact,” said Doug Domenech, Assistant Secretary, Insular and International Affairs. We commend the hard work and efforts of officials of the Defence, State and Interior Ministers, including the staff of the relevant parliamentary committees to work on this process. The United States looks forward to many more years of collaboration with Palau and is proud of the relationship we share. The United States did not want the previous revision of Palaus to be repeated in 2010, when it took eight years for the financial package to be properly approved. U.S. Ambassador Amy Hyatt and Secretary of the Treasury of the Republic of Palau, Elbuchel Sadang, signed the agreement on September 19, 2018 in Palau to implement it and complete the first 15-year review and modification process under the Compact of Free Association (Compact of Free Association), U.S. Public Law 99-658. The United States has opened negotiations to renew agreements with its Pacific states, which is contrary to Chinese influence in the region. The U.S. government and Palau signed the agreement in 2010, which offered an additional $229 million in financial assistance through 2024.
At the time, full funding for the pact was not approved. Since GJ 2010, subsequent internal and discretionary mandates have extended annual economic assistance to Palau by approximately $13.1 million per year, for a total of $105.2 million in discretionary funds. This credit is intended to support the Palau government in its efforts to promote the well-being of its people and to recognize the special relationship between the United States and Palau. The governments of the United States and Palau will have to meet to update the financing plan for the 2010 agreement, which required specific annual spending. Minister Elbuchel Sadang and Director Casmir Remengesau, along with legal advisors and other agents in the President`s office, will continue to work closely with Ambassador Amy Hyatt, the U.S. Embassy in Koror and officials from the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of the Interior to conclude all agreements necessary to implement the Review Pact.
, and the transfer of the corresponding credits. The U.S. government and Palau signed the agreement in 2010, which offered additional U.S. financial assistance totalling $229 million through 2024, the statement said. Under the agreement, the United States will provide decreasing amounts to Palau each year to develop other sources of local revenue. The purpose of the consultation was to allow Palau and the United States to exchange concerns and discuss the process, funding plan and timetable to facilitate and develop an agreement on the implementation of the funding. U.S. officials met in Palau to renew the free association pact agreement. Minister Elbuchel Sadang, on behalf of President Tommy E. Remengesau Jr.
the people and government of Palau, thanked the government and administration for the approval of this much-anticipated funding to implement the Pact Review Agreement signed in September 2010. Minister Sadang said: “Palau is grateful for his historic friendship and relationship with the United States. The approval and ownership of this new compact funding is proof of this relationship. The United States and Palau signed the amended agreement following the Compact of Free Association Section 432 Review on September 19 in Koror, Palau. The United States and Palau also exchanged diplomatic notes by which the pact revision agreement, signed in 2010, came into force.