Hagåtña — The Office of the Governor of Guam, in coordination with the Offices of Homeland Security and Civil Defense, hosted a joint Guam and Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) “One Marianas Summit” today at the Pacific Star Resort and Spa, in Tumon.

On December 18, 2017, Guam Governor Eddie Baza Calvo met with CNMI Governor Ralph Torres where they both signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which broadly covered areas of mutual concern and benefit to Guam and the CNMI.

The “One Marianas Summit” paved the way forward based off of the MOU, by dissecting key issues into different working groups:

Group 1: Labor and Education

Group 2: Commerce, Ports (sea and air) and Visitors

Group 3: Homeland Security and Public Safety

Group 4: Public Health, Food Security and Pharmaceuticals

Group 5: Finance and Taxation

Group 6: Land, Environment and Veterans Affairs

Group 7: Infrastructure, Utilities and Roads, and Telecommunications

Attendees for the summit, including leaders and personnel from both Guam and CNMI homeland security, labor departments, visitors bureaus, public health, economic development, public safety, and communications were able to discuss key issues and come up with viable solutions including public law granting the consent of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, relinquishing the need for individual MOUs between agencies, economic development, economic exchange, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, export and import opportunities, joint tourism packages, and sharing resources between the Marianas.

A joint Guam and CNMI summit will be held in Saipan at the end of the month.

“Guam and the CNMI face similar issues relative to our relationships with the federal government and our geographic location particularly as it pertains to typhoons. We also have many opportunities that we can uncover and, agree to pursue together,” said Adelup Chief of Staff Mark Calvo.

“For the CNMI and Guam, collective problems requires collective solutions, and the commitment to reaching that goal stems from a shared understanding of our history with disasters and what we need to mitigate for them. This working group between the two jurisdictions allow us to share best practices and agree on actions moving forward,” said Kevin Bautista, Press Secretary for Governor Torres.

Skip to content