Government
Down To The Wire
Washington’s Chief Negotiator Wraps Up Compact Talks
A new 20-year relationship between the United States and the Republic of the Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia is expected to be ready for the U.S. Congress next month. The last major financial hurdles in the ongoing negotiations between Majuro, Palikir and Washington were cleared in November, during discussions in the respective Pacific Island capitals.
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Albert V. Short, director of the U.S. State Department’s Office of Compact Negotiations, told Pacific Magazine shortly after the November talks that he sees nothing left that might delay a formal signing of new Compacts of Free Association either this month or early next month.
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That’s critical as both Pacific governments must get U.S. lawmakers to sign off on the nearly $3 billion in federal funding that’s included in the two new agreements. The package for the Marshalls totals $960 million over 20 years. The FSM compact is valued at $1.8 billion in grants and trust fund contributions over the same period.
What Short will have to do in the next few weeks, however, is remove any “agreements to disagree” from either the Marshallese or Micronesian compacts. That will be a challenge, as both Island governments have insisted they want to express their disappointment with parts of their respective agreements. Short made it clear to Pacific Magazine, however, that the Bush Administration would not send the Compacts to Capitol Hill unless they are free of reservations.
The only other potential problem point is the “immigration issue.” Washington some time ago began suggesting that unrestricted access of Marshallese and Micronesians to the U.S. might have to be modified. Short, who came to the job a year ago in November with significant experience in helping to craft the first Compacts over 15 years ago, immediately began putting out the fires caused by the U.S. stance on immigration.
As one of the few U.S. officials who has any experience with the negotiations that led to Compact I, Short makes it clear that an evolving relationship between Washington and the Marshalls and FSM doesn’t mean the U.S. is disengaging itself from regional affairs. “The political relationships aren’t tied to dollars,” he notes.
Short’s long experience in the region gives him unusual perspective on what’s realistic, and what isn’t, in the Pacific. Regarding improving health and education, two key goals of the new Compacts, Short says it isn’t necessarily about new classrooms or hospitals, it is about developing intellectual capital. “It is about establishing standards, then maintaining them,” he says.
As for development, Short says “think small.” “You have to recognize that in island economies, it is difficult to achieve a growth rate of 1 or 2 percent.” Forget the big dollar development projects, he says. Instead, the U.S. and regional governments need to focus on smaller-scale projects that are manageable, profitable and can build a culture of entrepreneurial success. “I don’t think there are big solutions in small places,” the U.S. negotiator concludes.
