FSM Information Services
Press Release
Switzerland Discusses Potential FSM Embassy in Geneva
FUNAFUTI, Tuvalu—On August 15th 2019, while His Excellency David W. Panuelo—President of the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM)—was engaged in a closed-door leaders meeting during the 50th Pacific Islands Forum, the FSM delegation met with Her Excellency Yasmine Chatila Zwahlen, Special Envoyof the Swiss Confederation. The primary outcome of the meeting was the Swiss Government’s formal and in-person declaration that the FSM is formally invited to establish an Embassy in Geneva, Switzerland, with accreditation to both the United Nations office there as well as Switzerland itself. The 21st Congress of the FSM, during its 2nd Special Session and through Congressional Resolution 21-41, formally requested President Panuelo to establish an Embassy in Geneva on July 25th 2019, after President Panuelo had discussed this topic with the Honorable Wesley W. Simina, Speaker of the FSM Congress, the Honorable Paliknoa K. Welly, Chairman of the External Affairs Committee, and other Members of Congress, about the need for the FSM’s presence in Europe. The Swiss Confederation has offered to pick-up the majority of the start-up costs, including several years of various expenses.
“Greetings from the Government of Switzerland!” began Special Envoy Zwahlen. “We are not an official dialogue partner [of the Pacific Islands Forum], but…we have bilateral relations with all countries in the region.”
“Geneva…is an important platform for multilateral diplomacy,” Special Envoy Swahlen continued. “So we would like to make this offer to the Government of the [FSM] for the establishment of a permanent mission in Geneva.”
Presently the FSM maintains embassies in the United States, Fiji, Japan, and the People’s Republic of China, in addition to its permanent mission at the United Nations in New York and consulates in the U.S. States and territories of Oregon, Hawaii, and Guam. Geneva, as the headquarters of the European branch of the United Nations, is considered an important location for the FSM’s diplomatic presence to expand by both the FSM Congress as well as the Executive Branch.
Special Consultant to the President on Foreign Affairs, Lorin S. Robert, spoke on behalf of the FSM delegation. “Thank you and your Government for your role in promoting the Smaller Islands States and the Pacific as a whole.”
Special Consultant Robert spoke in detail about how, in his view, the FSM—as a product of the United Nations’ system—ought to have a permanent mission in Geneva. “We were the only Strategic Trust Territory, which is why the termination was a subject matter of the Security Council. …Now we can attend the United Nations as a sovereign Nation [in our own right], and without having shed any blood.”
“No revolution,” Special Envoy Zwahlen replied.
“We very much appreciate the kindness and support,” Special Consultant Robert continued. “We look forward to [completing the logistics required to setup and maintain] for an Embassy in Geneva. Geneva is, of course, world famous—and for us to be a part of that system [would benefit the FSM and its people].”
Special Consultant Robert spoke at length about the historical framework behind the FSM’s creation as a sovereign Nation—its Constitutional Government turned 40 in May 2019—and the importance of all nations engaging each other to tackle regional and international challenges.
“Thank you very much for explaining this to me…we would really welcome [the FSM developing an Embassy in Geneva] because we find it politically interesting and timely that this region, the Pacific Islands, can make their voice heard in the global arena,” Special Envoy Zwahlen said.
During the annual Pacific Islands Forum meetings with Pacific Island Countries, the FSM is a member of the Pacific grouping of ACP—the African, Caribbean, and Pacific group—that works with the European Union as a combined donor entity of the European countries. The European Union gives regional and bilateral support to the Pacific Island countries, including the FSM. The FSM will work bilaterally with Switzerland and accredit its Embassy with the European Union Headquarters based in Brussels, Belgium.
The FSM is committed to extending to other nations what it seeks from them: peace, friendship, cooperation, and love in our common humanity. The FSM looks forward to establishing a diplomatic mission in Geneva for the multiple purposes of strengthened engagement with the United Nations, the Swiss Confederation, and the European Union.
