Bush says he has his
eye on the PacificHe follows up his Hawaii meeting
with island leaders by letter
SAIPAN, Northern Mariana Islands >> President Bush has reiterated his commitment to Pacific island leaders, six weeks after meeting with them in Hawaii.
"I am impressed by the resolute and optimistic spirit of the Pacific islands," Bush said in a letter to Gov. Juan Babauta that was made public. "And I look forward to increased cooperation between our governments and our people."
Bush attended a closed-door meeting with 13 Pacific leaders for nearly an hour Oct. 23 during his visit to Honolulu. It was the first gathering of its kind since Bush's father met with Pacific islanders in Honolulu in 1990.
In the October meeting, the island leaders expressed various concerns, from seemingly small-town requests like funding for an airport fence to larger issues of keeping vulnerable Pacific areas safe from terrorism.
"I appreciate the opportunity to convey America's commitment to your region and to hear directly from you about the way on terror, the environment and economic development," Bush wrote to Babauta.
The letter demonstrates Bush is following up on his promise to address Pacific island issues, though how much further the administration goes to work with those places remains to be seen.
In October, Bush told Pacific leaders the United States would share intelligence with the nations to help them meet their own security needs.
The Honolulu meeting included chief executives and other diplomats representing American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Guam, the Marshall Islands, New Caledonia, Niue, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, the Solomon Islands and Tonga.