New Philippines Ambassador to the FSM Presents Credentials to President Simina – Migrant Worker Agreement Advances

PALIKIR, Pohnpei, February 26, 2024 – H.E. Wesley W. Simina has accepted the letter of credence of the newly appointed Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to the Federated States of Micronesia, H.E. Mylene J. Garcia-Albano in a Presentation of Credentials Ceremony held in Palikir yesterday.
The ceremony was attended by members of the diplomatic corps, including all resident Ambassadors to the FSM, as well as cabinet members of the Simina-Palik administration and government officials and members of the Filipino community residing in Pohnpei. In her remarks, Ambassador Garcia-Albano highlighted the importance of people-to-people relations between the Philippines and the FSM, underscored by the historic meeting of the two heads of state that took place between President Simina and President Marcos in October of last year. The Ambassador further expressed the Philippines\’ desire to “open up a new era of cooperation” between the FSM and the Philippines, given the unique opportunities to collaborate on issues such as climate change and disasters that are prevalent to island nations like ours, and emphasized the important role the FSM and the Philippines plays in the Indo-Pacific which further extends to the growth of the global economy. In President Simina’s remarks, he shared “Your accreditation today signifies another important chapter in the political and diplomatic history of FSM-Philippines relations. It is also an important development, recalling that the first Ambassador of the Philippines to the FSM presented his credentials in 1989 to then-president John R. Haglelam, following the opening of the first Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines here in Pohnpei. After 4 years of operations, the Embassy closed its doors and since then the FSM received coverage from the Philippines\’ Consulate General Office in Guam. Accepting your credentials today expresses the strong desire and commitment of my government to elevate and further strengthen engagement and development activities between the FSM and the Philippines.” Immediately following the ceremony, President Simina, and Ambassador Garcia-Albano took the opportunity to sit down for a meeting to further discuss areas of mutual interest. At the outset, President Simina expressed that the people of the Federated States of Micronesia have been “feeling the effect of the labor ban” and expressed the FSM’s gratitude for the progress that’s been made towards implementing the labor ban lift, as agreed during his meeting with President Marcos last October. Ambassador Garcia-Albano acknowledged this issue and confirmed that a draft agreement is being worked on and reviewed by both the Philippines Dept. of Migrant Workers and the FSM, including a list of Contact Persons for the facilitation of the verification of contracts. The Ambassador also confirmed that these services will be processed out of Manila and not Wellington, in order to make the process easier and more expeditious for all involved. The President thanked the Ambassador for this welcome news and conveyed the FSM’s hope for these services to ultimately be moved to Guam for even greater convenience, to which the Ambassador affirmed that they are moving in that direction as well. Further meetings set for this week between the Ambassador’s delegation and relevant agencies including the FSM Dept. of Justice are expected to finalize these details, at which point further pertinent information will be made available. Other topics that were discussed between President Simina, Vice President Palik and Ambassador Garcia-Albano included maritime support, police academy training and training opportunities for diplomats at the Philippines Foreign Service Institute. President Simina also expressed the FSM’s appreciation for the healthcare that is provided to many of the FSM’s citizens who are referred to the Philippines.The meeting ended with the exchange of cultural gifts from both sides.###