President Wesley W. Simina congratulated 17 young men and women from across the Federated States of Micronesia during an Enlistment Ceremony held at the U.S. Embassy compound on June 17.
Through the Compact of Free Association, FSM citizens are eligible to serve in the U.S. armed forces. Simina noted that military service offers opportunities for personal and professional growth while contributing to global peace, security, and stability. He reminded the recruits that, wherever they may be stationed, they will serve not only in uniform but also as ambassadors of the Federated States of Micronesia.
U.S. Chargé d'Affaires Vincent Mut-Tracy also recognized the longstanding contributions of FSM citizens serving in the U.S. military and the close ties between the two countries.
The U.S. hosted a Joint Committee Meeting with the FSM on May 27 and 28 at the Joint Task Force–Micronesia Headquarters in Guam. Discussion topics included recent and upcoming U.S. military projects and engagements in the FSM, including the recently completed Pacific Air Forces Pacific Angel medical exercise and the upcoming Pacific Fleet Pacific Partnership Humanitarian exercise.
The FSM is due to host the next Joint Committee Meeting in November.
For many of the islands in the Pacific, development funding comes from a variety of sources. These include the United Nations, the European Economic Union, the United States, Japan and Australia.
Such funding makes a difference for commercial options and to the lives of its citizens, particularly with upgrades to the East Micronesia Cable System, funded by the U.S., Japan and Australia.
The People’s Republic of China has also funded and continues to fund development in the FSM.
President Wesley W. Simina handed over the renovated Chuuk Agriculture Station, with a focus on biosecurity and quarantine operations, to the Chuuk State Government on Feb. 4. The United Nations Development Programme is the implementing partner.
In July 2023, the U.N. and the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, and Kiribati announced the Sustainable Development Goals and funding of $3.8 million by the U.N. through various U.N. agencies.
On March 3, Vice President Aren B. Palik and Ambassador Nobuo Kagomiya of Japan to the FSM, participated in the handover ceremony of a newly constructed classroom building in Yap.
The facility was delivered through the project “Enhancing the Capacities of the COM-FSM Fisheries and Maritime Institute,” funded by Japan’s Economic and Social Development Program. The building is intended to strengthen FMI’s ability to provide quality maritime education and training for students preparing for careers in the maritime sector.
Future investments in FSM and Yap State by the U.S. Department of War were estimated in March 2025 to exceed $2 billion. Those investments will include about $400 million to upgrade Yap’s airport as a potential divert airfield and its seaport.
Aside from fisheries enforcement boardings of foreign flagged vessels, the crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Oliver Henry transported a University of Hawaii Sea Level Center technician to Kapingamarangi Atoll to complete the station's first upgrade in 12 years earlier this year.
Supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Embassy in Pohnpei, the restored gauge was online and transmitting when a magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck the Molucca Sea on April 2, contributing to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center's readiness network covering that stretch of the Western Pacific. mbj
