PALIKIR, Pohnpei—Following the announcement by His Excellency Joseph R. Biden Jr., President of the United States of America, that he has nominated Her Excellency Carmen G. Cantor, Ambassador of the United States of America to the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) to serve as the Assistant Secretary of Insular & International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Interior, His Excellency David W. Panuelo, President of the FSM, has written to the Honorable Joe Manchin, Chair of the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Energy & Natural Resources, and the Honorable John Barrasso, Ranking Member of the same Committee, to confirm the FSM National Government’s endorsement of Ambassador Cantor’s nomination “without hesitation or reservation.”
Citizens unfamiliar with the importance of the U.S. President’s nomination of Ambassador Cantor to this position may appreciate the following summary. Under the Compact of Free Association, as Amended, the U.S. Department of Interior oversees U.S. Government financial federal assistance to the FSM. If Ambassador Cantor is confirmed as the Assistant Secretary for Insular & International Affairs, the practical effect for the FSM is that our Nation would have a very close friend and ally in direct and frequent contact with our country and our Micronesian subregion. It is the view of the FSM National Government that it is in the FSM’s national interest that Ambassador Cantor be confirmed as the Assistant Secretary for Insular & International Affairs.
“In her time serving the FSM,” President Panuelo wrote in his letters to the U.S. Senate’s Committee on Energy & Natural Resources, “the Ambassador has not only successfully demonstrated our shared values of Peace, Unity, and Liberty, but has also played a key role in keeping our Nation COVID-19 free (which it remains to this day). Whether it’s been informing our Nation of contemporary, near-future, and long-term security threats in the Indo-Pacific, working to promote women and girls’ empowerment, playing a key role in our national COVID-19 Task Force, and strengthening FSM-U.S. relations across the spectrum, the People & Government of the FSM have been extraordinarily happy with her service…. Ambassador Cantor is the real deal.”
“Rest assured: if over the course of your deliberations any person in your esteemed body wonders ‘Does the FSM support Ambassador Cantor’s nomination to serve as the Assistant Secretary for Insular & International Affairs?’ that the answer is a resounding yes. The Government of the FSM categorically endorses Ambassador Cantor’s nomination without hesitation or reservation.”
The President’s letter to the Senators can be found here: https://gov.fm/files/Dipnote_to_US_re_Ltr_to_Senator_Joe_Manchin_III.pdf
