5 Feb 2009

American Samoa's Congressman says key issues for Pacific nations on his agenda

9:21 am on 5 February 2009

American Samoa's Congressman Faleomavaega Eni Hunkin says key issues raised by Pacific island nations will be on the agenda of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific in the current Congress.

Faleomavaega was last week was unanimously elected to a second term as chairman of the Subcommittee.

Now serving his 11th term as American Samoa's congressman, Faleomavaega says many of the topics looked at by the subcommittee, including climate change, are very important to Pacific island countries.

He wants the House to look at an issue that he feels is overlooked but will be of increasing importance to the region is.

"I am a member of the subcommittee on minerals and energy, and definitely seabed minerals in my opinion in the years to come is going to be a big issue internationally because the Pacific Ocean has trillions of dollars worth of magnese nodules in the seabed, and most of the the Islands nations have these deposits, including even American Samoa and other areas where the US has their exclusive economic zones."