Jan. 7, 2026
President Surangel Whipps Jr.: Leading Palau with Innovation, Culture, and Global Vision
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In this episode of Stories Worth Hearing, host John Quick welcomes Surangel Whipps Jr., President of the Republic of Palau, for a wide ranging conversation about leadership, innovation, and national identity. President Whipps reflects on what makes Palau a truly unique country, from its deep cultural roots and natural beauty to its close knit communities and global outlook.
The conversation explores how President Whipps’ background in business has shaped his approach to governing, with a focus on creating opportunity, strengthening the economy, and thinking creatively about Palau’s future. He shares the vision behind Palau’s Digital Residency Program and how digital innovation can connect the country to entrepreneurs and ideas around the world, while still honoring Palau’s values of trust, responsibility, and stewardship.
They also discuss Palau’s recent economic momentum, the importance of sustainable growth, and the responsibility that comes with protecting one of the world’s most remarkable marine environments. President Whipps speaks about Palau’s role on the global stage, including why it is important for small island nations to have a strong voice in international conversations, especially around climate and long-term resilience.
This is a hopeful, thoughtful episode about leadership with purpose and how a small nation can lead by example in a rapidly changing world.
Learn more about Palau and explore the country discussed in this episode:
• Official Government of Palau
https://www.palaugov.pw/
• Tourism in Palau
https://pristineparadisepalau.com/
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Well, Mr. President, welcome
back to the show.
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Super excited to chat with you.
This will be fun to catch up
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with you.
Well.
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It's great to be back and thank
you for always allowing us to
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share a bit about our part of
the world and the Western
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Pacific.
Yeah.
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So for folks who may not know
Palau well, how would you
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describe your country and what
makes it special to you
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personally?
Well, you know, when we promote
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Palau, we say pristine paradise.
You know, when I was in grad
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school, all my friends were, a
lot of them are going to Wall
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Street for interviews.
I was getting my MBA, so they
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had asked me, so why aren't you
interviewing?
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And I said, no, I'm, I'm going
home.
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We're going to help buy our
family business.
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And you know why?
Why go anyplace else?
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In my mind, there was no other.
Yeah, the lure of Wall Street
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and making all those bid all
that money was great.
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But going home to paradise was
always in the plans.
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You know, I always tell people
that Palau is in the westernmost
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Pacific.
It's 500 miles east of the
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Philippines, 800 miles southwest
of Guam.
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It is really in a 60 mile
radius.
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You can see all the different
Thailand formations of the
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Pacific.
We have a tolls in the north and
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then in some of our southern
islands, which are similar to
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the Marshall Islands or
Maldives, we have the like the
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Hawaiian Islands are like Fiji.
We have a volcanic island, it's
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kind of in the middle.
And then we have islands to the
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South that are similar to Guam
or Nauru, coral formations.
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And then we have higher ones
that are coral islands that are
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similar to what people would see
in Palawan and the Philippines
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or Raja and Putt in Indonesia.
So we like to say that you can
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see a slice of the whole Pacific
in Palau.
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And one of the things that we've
been blessed with is currents
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from the western Pacific, from
the southwestern Pacific and
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from the eastern Pacific all
converge on Palau.
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And Palau is right at the edge
of what they call the coral
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Triangle.
So we have 1500 species of fish.
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Wow, 500 species of coral, just
tremendous biodiversity below
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the ocean and above the ocean of
the islands are full of
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vegetation.
If you know, Paul Pelolu was the
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site of one of the bloodiest
battles ever for the United
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States.
And during World War 2, the
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island was completely bombed.
There was no tree standing and
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so it looked like a desert.
Now, of course, it's a tropical
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rainforest again because that's
how islands are that have lots
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of rain.
So just, you know, you won't
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just see one type of tree or
plant.
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It'll be a whole variety of
plants and trees.
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So we've been blessed with this
and we also believe that it's
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our responsibility and be good
stewards of what we've been
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blessed with.
So we try to protect it and use
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it sustainably so Palauans and
the world can continue to enjoy
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it.
That's awesome.
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Yeah.
It's, it's such a beautiful
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country.
My wife and I frequently go to
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Hawaii and one of our Uber
drivers was from Palau and it
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was right after we first
interviewed you and I got a
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chance to talk to the Uber
driver about, hey, I just
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interviewed the president of
Palau and he about stopped in
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his tracks and he literally
started crying because he
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thought it was such a cool
connection.
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So he just seeing the, the, the
light up in his eyes as I just
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reminisced of the small amount I
knew about his country.
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I could tell that it was a great
place to be from.
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So when you came into
leadership, you're president of
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the Republic of Plow, you had a
business background.
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How is that kind of shaped how
you think governing goes for the
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Republic of Plow?
I mean, I'm sure you have a
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tremendous amount of
responsibility in the country,
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but you're also often travelling
around the world speaking about,
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you know, climate change and how
it affects your ocean and the
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oceans that are surrounding you
and keeping good relations up
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around the world with folks as
they think of plow.
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So tell me how that business
background has helped shaped
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your kind of philosophy and
politics.
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Well, you know, I guess coming
from a business background,
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we're problem solvers.
We just want to get things done
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and you, you know, you whether
it's coming in, in the middle of
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COVID.
So we're digging ourselves
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deeper into debt and we've got
to fix this.
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We've got to get things back on
track.
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And so just getting to work and
trying to bring tourism back.
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But before you bring tourism
back, you got to get everybody
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vaccinated.
You got to be prepared because
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if you have community spread,
you know, so it's just going
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through the processes and
getting all of that done.
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We have been doubly challenged
with tourism because
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unfortunately the US dollar is
very strong.
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And when the US dollar is strong
Asians, it makes it difficult
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for them to travel to a country
that uses U.S. dollars.
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But it's been a struggle to get
back.
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We're about at this year, just
finishing in December, we're
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about at 70% of where we were in
pre COVID, but we hope to be
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closer almost 90% by the end of
this year.
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So just trying to bring that
back.
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One thing that we've really
worked hard on is pre COVID, a
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lot of our tourism came from
China.
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And one of the things that I've
been very focused on is, well,
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you got to diversify.
You can't have all your eggs in
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one basket for multiple reasons.
One is I've I've said and other
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talk shows and other events that
the Chinese tend to weaponize
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tourism if you don't play their
game.
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And so just having coming back,
we have now four flights a week
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from Taipei.
We've got 2 new flights that
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just started Tokyo, of course,
six flights a week from Guam,
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two flights from Manila, and we
have a new flight that we
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started from Australia.
They're really, really excited
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about.
We also have six flights a week
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from Hong Kong and Macau, which
we try to, you know, we're,
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we're thankful for those, but we
definitely want the rest of the
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world to see Palazzo.
Really what we're grateful for
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is that we've seen tremendous
growth in the European market,
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the US market, of course,
Australia and now Japan is
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coming back.
So really building a solid
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foundation for the future.
The other thing that you know,
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I, I ran in 2016 and then I ran
again in 2020 for president, but
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one of the things that I
campaigned on was tax reform.
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And you know, coming from a big
business background, I know
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there's loopholes and tax
systems.
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There's something that the IMF
for years have told us to do was
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and ADB and, and the World Bank
is that you need a modern tax
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system, a value added tax
system, which is basically a
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sales tax, but more of the way
the rest of the world is doing
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it.
And that way it, it's really
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self checking, easier to plug up
the loophole holes and, and,
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and, and really collect revenues
from the consumers and that
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includes tourists and then turn
around and reduce taxes on
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income and others to the people
that are living there and help
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with the most importantly, the
people that need it most.
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And so, you know, we tried
talking about that in 2016.
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Of course, I lost the election
2020 I got in, I said we were
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going to do it within a year.
We had a past implemented it
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about two years out from the
election.
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They were in the, in my last
election, 24 was, it was a hot
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topic.
But I think in the end the
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people see the results of what
we were trying to do.
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And so anybody that runs on
taxes and raises taxes a little
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bit and still wins, I have to be
grateful for that.
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And I'm grateful for the
confidence that the problem
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people had in me so.
How close was that 2024
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election?
I know you won, but did you have
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somebody that was close to you
or was it that was it a
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landslide victory?
Well, we got 58%, so.
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Nice.
That's great.
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Got 42%, so pretty pretty.
Pretty strong.
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I think pretty strong from, you
know, the I think the people
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spoke and just so happened that
I ran against previous president
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who had also held office for 16
years.
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So he'd had eight years, took a
break and then took another
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eight years.
So a well seasoned politician
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and of course when he was in
office he refused to do the tax
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reforms.
So one of the things he ran on
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was he was going to go backwards
and.
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That didn't work out too well.
For my campaign was no, we're
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going forward, we're not going
backwards.
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Well, what one of the things
that you spear had to, you know,
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and we're kind of one of the
first out the gate in the whole
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world was a digital digital
residency program.
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Talk to me a little bit about
that.
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Is that still happening?
How did that come to be as a
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been is a been popular with
entrepreneurs?
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Talk to me a little bit about
what that program is and how
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it's going.
Well, we're still at the
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beginning and you know, we kind
of model it out of after
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Estonia.
So we got the digital residents.
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I think the next part of what
we're trying to do is get the
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right legislation and so that
they can have owned businesses
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and, and, and do other things.
That hasn't quite come to
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fruition, but we're still
working on it.
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We have over 30,000 digital
residents that have already
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signed up.
So quite a significant number.
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There was definitely interest.
One of the things that we wanted
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to do was establish A plow
stable coin.
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But you know, one of the
challenges that you have in
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politics is sometimes people are
afraid and especially my, my
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Congress.
And so they, you know, they just
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are always cautious and trying
to stop things and, and it's
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trying really to stop change.
And so it's, it's, I'm always on
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the media talking about these
things because it's really about
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helping the people understand.
And if the people understand,
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they can convince Congress that
we need this legislation so we
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can, can further really, I think
open up the opportunities that a
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programs like the digital
residency has.
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We're also, we have a shipping
registry now we're working on an
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aircraft registry.
But just looking at all those
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different opportunities that you
have as a small all country and
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trying to unlock that.
And, and really one of the
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things that Palau we see in
Palau is because of our
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location, we're on the same time
zone as Tokyo.
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We're 3 1/2 hours from Hong
Kong.
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So one of the things that we do
have an opportunity of is, is,
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is just being a financial
center, small enough, nimble
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enough, Then, you know, I think
we've learned from some of the
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challenges they've had in places
like the British Virgin Islands
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and Cayman Islands and Bermuda.
How can we do a better job at
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that?
Because there are, I think,
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opportunities out there.
There's Asian companies that are
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looking for that and so finding
a niche and then because we see
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ourselves as being really the
Caribbean of the of Asia.
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Yeah.
So one of the things that I've
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admired about you as I watch
from afar is that you have
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really great relationship with
the US and other countries
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around the world.
How important has that been for
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you to have a solid relationship
with the US, no matter who the
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president is, every four years
or so?
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And my guess is your country
benefits from having a great
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relationship with the US.
Well, you know about it's now
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3032 years ago, Palau entered
into what we call a compactor
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free association with the United
States.
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And through that relationship,
of course, we were a trust
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territory of the United States
and then transitioned to become
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an independent country, but in
free association with the United
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States.
And basically what that does is
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00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:43,240
when it comes to security and
defense, we are part of the US
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homeland and in EU s s view, and
that's an important part of our
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relationship because as you
know, World War Two, we were the
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South S Seas headquarters for
Japan, the one they were
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launching attacks in Asia and
all over the South Pacific.
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So we know that because of our
geographic location, we will
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always be, I think in the center
of whoever is the dominant
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powers sphere of what they would
like to influence.
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And as you know, over the years,
China's influence has grown and
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dominance across the Pacific
continues to strengthen.
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And over the past few years with
the United States during COVID,
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it was important that we had
military visits.
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It important that we had US
exercises because even though we
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didn't have the numbers of
tourists that we had previously,
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well, at least we had military.
For example, 70 Marines that
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have been staying on one of our
southern islands working on a
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runway for the last three years.
And those Marines of course,
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occupy space and hotel and
they've been able to at least
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keep that island having
occupancy and all their small
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Airbnbs that they have
operating, which, you know,
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there's little things like that
that I think.
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That's great for the economy.
How we help each other.
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So, you know, there there's this
feeling that all the US is out
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there.
They're improving runways,
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they're going to improve the
port, they're building radar
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stations.
And, you know, there's fear that
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this will bring more attention
to Palau.
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And I mean, more risk for if
there's war or some kind of
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activity in the Pacific.
But, you know, I, I try to help
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people understand that most
importantly, we have to partner
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with partners that we share
common values and the United
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States, we, we believe in
freedom and democracy and the
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rule of law.
And most importantly, if the
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United States is strong and
ready to defend not only Palau,
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but the the Pacific, we are safe
and secure.
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And as Trump says, peace through
strength.
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And so it's really about Palau
working with the United States
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to ensure that we have a free
and open Indo Pacific.
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But it's working in the United
States, working with Japan,
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working with Taiwan, working
with Australia and of course the
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European allies, India.
And that's, that's what's
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important.
So having the United States as
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a, as a partner for defense, but
more importantly as a, as a
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development partner.
And one of the things that we've
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been able to just conclude
during my first term was the
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Compact of Free Association,
what we call every 15 years
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there's a review.
So we finished the 15 year
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review.
We kind of set out some economic
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policies and development
assistance for infrastructure
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and, and healthcare and, and the
security and education for the
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next 20 years.
So it's, it's, it's partnering,
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making sure that not only are we
talking about security and
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defense, but we're talking about
building those important social
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services and economic
resilience.
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And one of the things that we're
working with the US now on is,
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is having an investment
conference in in Hawaii in
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February to attract US investors
to really look at the Pacific as
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an investment area.
You know, everybody flies across
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the Asia, but what are the types
of businesses you could have in
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the Pacific and that may work
like a financial center?
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Why can't we have JP Morgan and
Goldman Sachs and them have
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offices in Palau, but have
clients all over Asia?
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I mean, that's, that's why I see
the future is then live in
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paradise.
You can you're almost on the
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same time zone as, as China,
same time zone as Tokyo and
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00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:30,760
Seoul provide those services for
that people need.
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So really looking at how U.S.
investment can change things and
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pull out.
And it was actually one of the
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Biden summers.
I was at the White House and we
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had a meeting with the Chamber
of Commerce or the an industry
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in DC.
And it was at that time I met
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00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:49,640
with the vice president of
United, Steve Morrissey, and I
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00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:54,320
said, you know, I'm working very
hard, fight every airline I can
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00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:58,280
find to open up flights from
Tokyo to Palau.
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00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:01,000
United already has the most
flights into Palau.
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You're the most logical choice.
So why don't you just do it?
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00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:09,000
Nice.
And two years later they did it
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and and the good news is that
it's been successful.
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So you know that that's just
that's about partnership.
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And so the relationship with the
United States has really been
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00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:20,360
key for our economic
development, important for
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00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:23,640
keeping us resilient and of
course providing the security.
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I think that we all benefit from
to Palau, but also to the world.
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That's awesome.
So what gives you the most hope
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about Plow's future right now?
For maybe folks, you know that
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you get to see the big picture
of this.
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00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:40,680
You get to travel around the
world, you get to be friends
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00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:43,960
with the presidents of the
United States, but not everybody
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00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:45,760
in your country gets to travel
the world.
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00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:48,360
What gives you future?
What gives you hope for the
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00:16:48,360 --> 00:16:51,160
future of the everyday person
that lives in your country?
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00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:54,920
Well, you know, the challenge
that we have is there's only
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18,000 people in Palm.
So it's a very small economy.
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00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:02,000
In fact, a group from the Boston
Consulting Group said you're
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ideal size to make you really
self-sufficient is you need
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00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:08,079
60,000 people.
But you know, we have about
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00:17:08,079 --> 00:17:11,240
20,000 Palauans that live in the
United States.
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They've all come here in search
of the American dream.
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00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:20,359
So really my goal is how do I
provide economic opportunity at
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00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:24,560
home so that those young men and
women can find their way back?
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00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:26,599
Many of them have served in the
US military.
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00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:29,560
What are those opportunities
that we can have to bring them
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00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:32,480
back and build a sustainable
economy?
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And so, and I believe that it is
possible.
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We've seen some of them begin to
come back.
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00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:43,840
The economy has turned around.
We had in 2024 we had 12 point,
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00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:50,120
a little over 12% GDP growth
this year, 2020, last year, 2025
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00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:54,040
we expected to be a little bit
over 6% and next year we hope to
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00:17:54,040 --> 00:18:00,440
be at another 4 percent, 5%.
So we, you know, I tell people
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that there is hope.
We have our challenges, but I
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think we're building a stronger,
more resilient Palau and then,
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you know, using technology.
I think that's what's happening
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00:18:11,640 --> 00:18:15,280
now is technology is really
changing the world in the way we
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do things.
And we have one fiber optic
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cable already hooked up, a
second one will be hooked up
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sometime this year.
That'll open up so much capacity
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on the Internet for us and
really direct links to the US
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00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:31,600
West Coast, a Singapore, we have
direct links now a fiber to Guam
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and the Philippines.
So those cables really I think
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will open up new opportunities
for us and and you know that
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00:18:39,360 --> 00:18:42,960
goal of being a financial center
or you know, a corporate center
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00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:45,360
where the businesses can, that
are especially in the digital
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00:18:45,360 --> 00:18:47,920
space can have their businesses
and operate.
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00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:50,720
These are, I think,
opportunities that we're just
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00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:53,400
scratching the surface up, but
there is potential.
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00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:56,760
Have you guys dabbled with
Starlink at all?
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00:18:56,800 --> 00:19:00,040
The Elon Musk's Internet
service, that was your country.
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00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:04,480
Well, we unfortunately have had
to block them from coming into
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Palau because if we allow them
in our fiber optic cable,
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00:19:07,960 --> 00:19:10,640
unfortunately we we went out on
loan to buy them.
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00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:14,320
Oh, so you need people using it?
And so if we have too much
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00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:16,440
competition, we can't pay back
the loan.
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00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:17,960
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, so.
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Maybe you know.
Fiber is still faster than
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Starlink.
So it's it's really finding that
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00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:25,840
capacity.
So there was a law to put a
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00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:29,160
moratorium until 2028 and then
opening it up.
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00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:33,040
And so we're but we're thinking
there we have do have some
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remote islands and so we're
trying to talk to Starlink to
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00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:39,800
address the needs on those and
of course boats and other things
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00:19:39,800 --> 00:19:42,200
that are in Palau.
But on the land based stuff,
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00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:45,480
we're trying to say for now use
the fiber that we have on the
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00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:49,240
ground, which right now we're
only using 5% of the capacity of
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00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:50,960
the fiber that we.
Have so it's got a lot.
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00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:55,600
Of the second one is hooked up,
we're only using 2.5%, so one of
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00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:57,480
the things that's happening is
we're going to get fiber to
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00:19:57,480 --> 00:19:59,800
everybody's home soon.
Nice.
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00:20:01,840 --> 00:20:05,600
So for my, I want to be mindful
of your time, Mr. President, my
364
00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:09,000
last question to you is this.
When people hear this story,
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00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:12,200
they're going to hear people
from all around the US, all over
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00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:15,800
the world really will will be
listening to this podcast and
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00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:17,800
they'll be listening to Plow
Story.
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00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:22,240
What do you hope stays with them
the most as they maybe tune into
369
00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:25,560
hearing from a president from a
country that they're first
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00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:27,600
learning about now and being
fascinated by it?
371
00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:29,840
What do you hope stays with them
as they hear the story about
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00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:32,160
Palau?
Well, you know, I, I hope that
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00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:36,640
they hear that it's, it is
paradise and we welcome you to
374
00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:39,360
come and visit.
But we have a, we have a, a
375
00:20:39,360 --> 00:20:43,640
policy that when and when any
visitor comes into Palau, your
376
00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:47,800
passport gets stamped and it's a
you'd stamp with a Palau pledge.
377
00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:51,160
And basically you promise to our
children that you will walk
378
00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:54,320
lightly, tread lightly, leave a
minimal impact.
379
00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:58,560
Most importantly, only lift
footprints that are in the sand
380
00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:02,360
that are wash away.
That that is our goal is, is
381
00:21:02,360 --> 00:21:05,040
that visitors come and visit,
enjoy Palau.
382
00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:08,200
We, we take care of it.
We're proud of it and we want to
383
00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:09,800
see you there, see you, see you
there.
384
00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:15,200
That's your way of helping us
being economic Lee resilient,
385
00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:17,080
being able to help our our
people.
386
00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:19,760
And that's, that's what about my
message to the when I was
387
00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:26,000
visiting the US Chamber also
Taiwan, I was telling our
388
00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:30,320
friends in Taiwan and and Japan,
we want you also to come and
389
00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:33,720
invest in tourism and airlines
and hotels, restaurants,
390
00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:37,120
whatever you can come up with so
that you can share in the
391
00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:39,960
opportunities that Palau has the
offer.
392
00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:42,640
Or if you have ideas on
developing a financial center, I
393
00:21:42,640 --> 00:21:44,800
think we are only scratching the
surface of that.
394
00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:49,040
Also in fishing and aquaculture
is another area that we're
395
00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:52,400
definitely looking to develop.
And we also are looking at how
396
00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:54,960
we can do something about
renewable energy.
397
00:21:55,040 --> 00:21:57,800
We're now at 25%.
We want to get to 100%
398
00:21:58,200 --> 00:21:59,880
renewable.
One of the things that we're
399
00:21:59,880 --> 00:22:03,240
stuck with in the Pacific is we
rely on diesel to power our
400
00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:05,520
generators and that's quite
expensive.
401
00:22:05,960 --> 00:22:10,520
So right now with the cost of
solar and and batteries, the
402
00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:12,840
cost has come down, but you
know, there's other
403
00:22:13,040 --> 00:22:17,320
opportunities out there.
So I think I want your listeners
404
00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:21,360
to know that there's a lot of
opportunity in Palau for
405
00:22:21,360 --> 00:22:27,240
business, but also just come in
and enjoy and explore the
406
00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:30,920
nature, World War 2 history and
also our culture, which goes
407
00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:33,720
back 3000 in years.
And what we've recently
408
00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:35,960
discovered is they say they're
like the pyramids.
409
00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:40,200
We have terraces in Palau.
So yeah, I tried to say that is
410
00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:43,240
the shortest amount of time
possible, but but thank you for
411
00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:47,280
asking.
So for folks interested, I'm
412
00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:50,520
going to stick all the links to
the official tourism website in
413
00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:52,160
the podcast description.
Go check it out.
414
00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:55,600
Go book your flight.
I mean, just go Google plow and
415
00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:58,360
you will see that it is
literally a paradise.
416
00:22:58,360 --> 00:23:01,120
You'll think that it's, you
know, almost too good to be
417
00:23:01,120 --> 00:23:02,480
true, but guess what?
It is true.
418
00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:05,440
So is United probably the best
way for folks in the US to go
419
00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:07,080
get to plow?
Is that probably the best,
420
00:23:07,120 --> 00:23:09,200
easiest way?
Yeah.
421
00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:13,560
So there's there's a most I
think come via United, but
422
00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:16,720
there's also sometimes pretty
good deals on China Airlines and
423
00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:21,560
China Airlines I think flies
from LA, San Francisco, Seattle
424
00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:23,360
to Taipei and then all into
Palau.
425
00:23:23,360 --> 00:23:24,760
And connections are pretty good
too.
426
00:23:24,760 --> 00:23:28,200
So it's like a one stop and
that's four times a week versus
427
00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:30,600
United twice a week out of
Tokyo.
428
00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:35,120
But for Alaska, you just fly to
Honolulu and then it's Honolulu,
429
00:23:35,120 --> 00:23:37,440
Guam and then Palau.
That's awesome.
430
00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:40,320
That's a pretty good.
Well, Mr. President, I
431
00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:42,080
appreciate you joining us.
You're welcome back anytime.
00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,000
Well, Mr. President, welcome
back to the show.
2
00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:04,360
Super excited to chat with you.
This will be fun to catch up
3
00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:05,200
with you.
Well.
4
00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:09,440
It's great to be back and thank
you for always allowing us to
5
00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:12,240
share a bit about our part of
the world and the Western
6
00:00:12,240 --> 00:00:13,600
Pacific.
Yeah.
7
00:00:13,600 --> 00:00:17,560
So for folks who may not know
Palau well, how would you
8
00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:20,720
describe your country and what
makes it special to you
9
00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:22,600
personally?
Well, you know, when we promote
10
00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:26,560
Palau, we say pristine paradise.
You know, when I was in grad
11
00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:29,800
school, all my friends were, a
lot of them are going to Wall
12
00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:32,439
Street for interviews.
I was getting my MBA, so they
13
00:00:32,439 --> 00:00:34,360
had asked me, so why aren't you
interviewing?
14
00:00:34,360 --> 00:00:36,000
And I said, no, I'm, I'm going
home.
15
00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:37,640
We're going to help buy our
family business.
16
00:00:37,640 --> 00:00:40,600
And you know why?
Why go anyplace else?
17
00:00:40,600 --> 00:00:44,560
In my mind, there was no other.
Yeah, the lure of Wall Street
18
00:00:44,560 --> 00:00:48,720
and making all those bid all
that money was great.
19
00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:52,040
But going home to paradise was
always in the plans.
20
00:00:52,080 --> 00:00:56,000
You know, I always tell people
that Palau is in the westernmost
21
00:00:56,000 --> 00:00:58,080
Pacific.
It's 500 miles east of the
22
00:00:58,080 --> 00:01:00,320
Philippines, 800 miles southwest
of Guam.
23
00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:03,760
It is really in a 60 mile
radius.
24
00:01:04,239 --> 00:01:08,160
You can see all the different
Thailand formations of the
25
00:01:08,160 --> 00:01:10,600
Pacific.
We have a tolls in the north and
26
00:01:10,600 --> 00:01:13,080
then in some of our southern
islands, which are similar to
27
00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:20,400
the Marshall Islands or
Maldives, we have the like the
28
00:01:20,400 --> 00:01:24,240
Hawaiian Islands are like Fiji.
We have a volcanic island, it's
29
00:01:24,320 --> 00:01:27,480
kind of in the middle.
And then we have islands to the
30
00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:32,000
South that are similar to Guam
or Nauru, coral formations.
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00:01:32,360 --> 00:01:36,640
And then we have higher ones
that are coral islands that are
32
00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:39,840
similar to what people would see
in Palawan and the Philippines
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00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:43,800
or Raja and Putt in Indonesia.
So we like to say that you can
34
00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:47,520
see a slice of the whole Pacific
in Palau.
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00:01:47,520 --> 00:01:51,080
And one of the things that we've
been blessed with is currents
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00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:54,760
from the western Pacific, from
the southwestern Pacific and
37
00:01:54,760 --> 00:01:57,080
from the eastern Pacific all
converge on Palau.
38
00:01:57,680 --> 00:01:59,880
And Palau is right at the edge
of what they call the coral
39
00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:03,800
Triangle.
So we have 1500 species of fish.
40
00:02:03,800 --> 00:02:09,160
Wow, 500 species of coral, just
tremendous biodiversity below
41
00:02:09,160 --> 00:02:12,080
the ocean and above the ocean of
the islands are full of
42
00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:15,920
vegetation.
If you know, Paul Pelolu was the
43
00:02:15,920 --> 00:02:19,160
site of one of the bloodiest
battles ever for the United
44
00:02:19,160 --> 00:02:22,680
States.
And during World War 2, the
45
00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:27,440
island was completely bombed.
There was no tree standing and
46
00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:29,840
so it looked like a desert.
Now, of course, it's a tropical
47
00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:33,600
rainforest again because that's
how islands are that have lots
48
00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:35,920
of rain.
So just, you know, you won't
49
00:02:35,920 --> 00:02:38,920
just see one type of tree or
plant.
50
00:02:38,920 --> 00:02:42,200
It'll be a whole variety of
plants and trees.
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00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:45,440
So we've been blessed with this
and we also believe that it's
52
00:02:45,440 --> 00:02:48,240
our responsibility and be good
stewards of what we've been
53
00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:50,520
blessed with.
So we try to protect it and use
54
00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:54,160
it sustainably so Palauans and
the world can continue to enjoy
55
00:02:54,200 --> 00:02:55,360
it.
That's awesome.
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00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:56,840
Yeah.
It's, it's such a beautiful
57
00:02:56,840 --> 00:03:00,080
country.
My wife and I frequently go to
58
00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:03,840
Hawaii and one of our Uber
drivers was from Palau and it
59
00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:06,760
was right after we first
interviewed you and I got a
60
00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:09,640
chance to talk to the Uber
driver about, hey, I just
61
00:03:09,640 --> 00:03:13,680
interviewed the president of
Palau and he about stopped in
62
00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:17,080
his tracks and he literally
started crying because he
63
00:03:17,080 --> 00:03:18,680
thought it was such a cool
connection.
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00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:24,200
So he just seeing the, the, the
light up in his eyes as I just
65
00:03:24,200 --> 00:03:26,640
reminisced of the small amount I
knew about his country.
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00:03:26,640 --> 00:03:28,600
I could tell that it was a great
place to be from.
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00:03:28,600 --> 00:03:31,040
So when you came into
leadership, you're president of
68
00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:33,880
the Republic of Plow, you had a
business background.
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00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:36,920
How is that kind of shaped how
you think governing goes for the
70
00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:39,400
Republic of Plow?
I mean, I'm sure you have a
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00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:41,760
tremendous amount of
responsibility in the country,
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00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:46,320
but you're also often travelling
around the world speaking about,
73
00:03:46,920 --> 00:03:50,200
you know, climate change and how
it affects your ocean and the
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00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:53,360
oceans that are surrounding you
and keeping good relations up
75
00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:56,120
around the world with folks as
they think of plow.
76
00:03:56,120 --> 00:03:58,960
So tell me how that business
background has helped shaped
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00:03:59,280 --> 00:04:01,080
your kind of philosophy and
politics.
78
00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:04,720
Well, you know, I guess coming
from a business background,
79
00:04:04,720 --> 00:04:08,080
we're problem solvers.
We just want to get things done
80
00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:12,640
and you, you know, you whether
it's coming in, in the middle of
81
00:04:12,640 --> 00:04:14,920
COVID.
So we're digging ourselves
82
00:04:14,920 --> 00:04:17,680
deeper into debt and we've got
to fix this.
83
00:04:17,680 --> 00:04:19,240
We've got to get things back on
track.
84
00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:22,840
And so just getting to work and
trying to bring tourism back.
85
00:04:23,200 --> 00:04:25,360
But before you bring tourism
back, you got to get everybody
86
00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:27,560
vaccinated.
You got to be prepared because
87
00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:30,480
if you have community spread,
you know, so it's just going
88
00:04:30,480 --> 00:04:33,320
through the processes and
getting all of that done.
89
00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:36,040
We have been doubly challenged
with tourism because
90
00:04:36,600 --> 00:04:38,960
unfortunately the US dollar is
very strong.
91
00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:42,720
And when the US dollar is strong
Asians, it makes it difficult
92
00:04:42,720 --> 00:04:45,600
for them to travel to a country
that uses U.S. dollars.
93
00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:48,080
But it's been a struggle to get
back.
94
00:04:48,080 --> 00:04:52,080
We're about at this year, just
finishing in December, we're
95
00:04:52,080 --> 00:04:55,800
about at 70% of where we were in
pre COVID, but we hope to be
96
00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:58,080
closer almost 90% by the end of
this year.
97
00:04:58,080 --> 00:05:00,440
So just trying to bring that
back.
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00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:06,280
One thing that we've really
worked hard on is pre COVID, a
99
00:05:06,280 --> 00:05:08,280
lot of our tourism came from
China.
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00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:12,760
And one of the things that I've
been very focused on is, well,
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00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:14,720
you got to diversify.
You can't have all your eggs in
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00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:20,600
one basket for multiple reasons.
One is I've I've said and other
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00:05:20,600 --> 00:05:24,160
talk shows and other events that
the Chinese tend to weaponize
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00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:27,520
tourism if you don't play their
game.
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00:05:27,760 --> 00:05:33,600
And so just having coming back,
we have now four flights a week
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00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:36,960
from Taipei.
We've got 2 new flights that
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00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:40,400
just started Tokyo, of course,
six flights a week from Guam,
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00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:43,160
two flights from Manila, and we
have a new flight that we
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00:05:43,160 --> 00:05:45,880
started from Australia.
They're really, really excited
110
00:05:45,880 --> 00:05:47,960
about.
We also have six flights a week
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00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:51,720
from Hong Kong and Macau, which
we try to, you know, we're,
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00:05:51,720 --> 00:05:55,440
we're thankful for those, but we
definitely want the rest of the
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00:05:55,440 --> 00:05:59,280
world to see Palazzo.
Really what we're grateful for
114
00:05:59,280 --> 00:06:02,720
is that we've seen tremendous
growth in the European market,
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00:06:02,720 --> 00:06:06,160
the US market, of course,
Australia and now Japan is
116
00:06:06,160 --> 00:06:08,440
coming back.
So really building a solid
117
00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:11,480
foundation for the future.
The other thing that you know,
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00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:16,680
I, I ran in 2016 and then I ran
again in 2020 for president, but
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00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:19,320
one of the things that I
campaigned on was tax reform.
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00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:23,560
And you know, coming from a big
business background, I know
121
00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:25,240
there's loopholes and tax
systems.
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00:06:25,240 --> 00:06:29,360
There's something that the IMF
for years have told us to do was
123
00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:33,200
and ADB and, and the World Bank
is that you need a modern tax
124
00:06:33,200 --> 00:06:36,200
system, a value added tax
system, which is basically a
125
00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:39,440
sales tax, but more of the way
the rest of the world is doing
126
00:06:39,440 --> 00:06:41,920
it.
And that way it, it's really
127
00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:46,720
self checking, easier to plug up
the loophole holes and, and,
128
00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:52,600
and, and really collect revenues
from the consumers and that
129
00:06:52,600 --> 00:06:56,640
includes tourists and then turn
around and reduce taxes on
130
00:06:56,640 --> 00:06:59,520
income and others to the people
that are living there and help
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00:06:59,680 --> 00:07:02,200
with the most importantly, the
people that need it most.
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00:07:02,600 --> 00:07:07,040
And so, you know, we tried
talking about that in 2016.
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00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:09,960
Of course, I lost the election
2020 I got in, I said we were
134
00:07:09,960 --> 00:07:13,880
going to do it within a year.
We had a past implemented it
135
00:07:14,800 --> 00:07:17,640
about two years out from the
election.
136
00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:21,880
They were in the, in my last
election, 24 was, it was a hot
137
00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:23,720
topic.
But I think in the end the
138
00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:27,720
people see the results of what
we were trying to do.
139
00:07:28,200 --> 00:07:32,120
And so anybody that runs on
taxes and raises taxes a little
140
00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:34,960
bit and still wins, I have to be
grateful for that.
141
00:07:34,960 --> 00:07:37,160
And I'm grateful for the
confidence that the problem
142
00:07:37,160 --> 00:07:41,000
people had in me so.
How close was that 2024
143
00:07:41,000 --> 00:07:43,160
election?
I know you won, but did you have
144
00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:46,680
somebody that was close to you
or was it that was it a
145
00:07:46,680 --> 00:07:50,200
landslide victory?
Well, we got 58%, so.
146
00:07:50,200 --> 00:07:51,000
Nice.
That's great.
147
00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:55,600
Got 42%, so pretty pretty.
Pretty strong.
148
00:07:55,600 --> 00:08:00,320
I think pretty strong from, you
know, the I think the people
149
00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:05,880
spoke and just so happened that
I ran against previous president
150
00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:09,680
who had also held office for 16
years.
151
00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:13,320
So he'd had eight years, took a
break and then took another
152
00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:17,240
eight years.
So a well seasoned politician
153
00:08:17,240 --> 00:08:20,760
and of course when he was in
office he refused to do the tax
154
00:08:20,760 --> 00:08:22,760
reforms.
So one of the things he ran on
155
00:08:22,760 --> 00:08:25,720
was he was going to go backwards
and.
156
00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:30,040
That didn't work out too well.
For my campaign was no, we're
157
00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:31,800
going forward, we're not going
backwards.
158
00:08:33,799 --> 00:08:36,720
Well, what one of the things
that you spear had to, you know,
159
00:08:36,840 --> 00:08:40,240
and we're kind of one of the
first out the gate in the whole
160
00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:43,039
world was a digital digital
residency program.
161
00:08:43,320 --> 00:08:44,480
Talk to me a little bit about
that.
162
00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:47,240
Is that still happening?
How did that come to be as a
163
00:08:47,240 --> 00:08:49,280
been is a been popular with
entrepreneurs?
164
00:08:49,280 --> 00:08:51,520
Talk to me a little bit about
what that program is and how
165
00:08:51,520 --> 00:08:54,400
it's going.
Well, we're still at the
166
00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:56,840
beginning and you know, we kind
of model it out of after
167
00:08:56,840 --> 00:08:59,600
Estonia.
So we got the digital residents.
168
00:08:59,600 --> 00:09:01,760
I think the next part of what
we're trying to do is get the
169
00:09:01,760 --> 00:09:06,360
right legislation and so that
they can have owned businesses
170
00:09:06,360 --> 00:09:10,160
and, and, and do other things.
That hasn't quite come to
171
00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:12,360
fruition, but we're still
working on it.
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00:09:12,760 --> 00:09:15,320
We have over 30,000 digital
residents that have already
173
00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:17,560
signed up.
So quite a significant number.
174
00:09:18,120 --> 00:09:20,280
There was definitely interest.
One of the things that we wanted
175
00:09:20,280 --> 00:09:23,000
to do was establish A plow
stable coin.
176
00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:26,280
But you know, one of the
challenges that you have in
177
00:09:26,280 --> 00:09:32,480
politics is sometimes people are
afraid and especially my, my
178
00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:35,000
Congress.
And so they, you know, they just
179
00:09:35,600 --> 00:09:40,200
are always cautious and trying
to stop things and, and it's
180
00:09:40,200 --> 00:09:45,920
trying really to stop change.
And so it's, it's, I'm always on
181
00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:48,640
the media talking about these
things because it's really about
182
00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:51,920
helping the people understand.
And if the people understand,
183
00:09:52,120 --> 00:09:55,320
they can convince Congress that
we need this legislation so we
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00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:59,840
can, can further really, I think
open up the opportunities that a
185
00:09:59,840 --> 00:10:01,720
programs like the digital
residency has.
186
00:10:01,720 --> 00:10:05,280
We're also, we have a shipping
registry now we're working on an
187
00:10:05,280 --> 00:10:08,600
aircraft registry.
But just looking at all those
188
00:10:08,600 --> 00:10:12,760
different opportunities that you
have as a small all country and
189
00:10:12,760 --> 00:10:15,360
trying to unlock that.
And, and really one of the
190
00:10:15,360 --> 00:10:17,880
things that Palau we see in
Palau is because of our
191
00:10:17,880 --> 00:10:20,520
location, we're on the same time
zone as Tokyo.
192
00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:22,760
We're 3 1/2 hours from Hong
Kong.
193
00:10:22,760 --> 00:10:26,680
So one of the things that we do
have an opportunity of is, is,
194
00:10:26,680 --> 00:10:31,720
is just being a financial
center, small enough, nimble
195
00:10:31,720 --> 00:10:35,760
enough, Then, you know, I think
we've learned from some of the
196
00:10:36,280 --> 00:10:39,440
challenges they've had in places
like the British Virgin Islands
197
00:10:39,440 --> 00:10:44,160
and Cayman Islands and Bermuda.
How can we do a better job at
198
00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:46,200
that?
Because there are, I think,
199
00:10:46,200 --> 00:10:49,080
opportunities out there.
There's Asian companies that are
200
00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:53,120
looking for that and so finding
a niche and then because we see
201
00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:56,680
ourselves as being really the
Caribbean of the of Asia.
202
00:10:57,120 --> 00:10:59,000
Yeah.
So one of the things that I've
203
00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:02,320
admired about you as I watch
from afar is that you have
204
00:11:02,320 --> 00:11:05,480
really great relationship with
the US and other countries
205
00:11:05,480 --> 00:11:07,880
around the world.
How important has that been for
206
00:11:07,880 --> 00:11:11,480
you to have a solid relationship
with the US, no matter who the
207
00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:14,120
president is, every four years
or so?
208
00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:17,320
And my guess is your country
benefits from having a great
209
00:11:17,320 --> 00:11:22,440
relationship with the US.
Well, you know about it's now
210
00:11:22,440 --> 00:11:26,480
3032 years ago, Palau entered
into what we call a compactor
211
00:11:26,480 --> 00:11:28,240
free association with the United
States.
212
00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:31,760
And through that relationship,
of course, we were a trust
213
00:11:31,760 --> 00:11:35,240
territory of the United States
and then transitioned to become
214
00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:37,600
an independent country, but in
free association with the United
215
00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:39,760
States.
And basically what that does is
216
00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:43,240
when it comes to security and
defense, we are part of the US
217
00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:47,200
homeland and in EU s s view, and
that's an important part of our
218
00:11:47,200 --> 00:11:51,120
relationship because as you
know, World War Two, we were the
219
00:11:51,120 --> 00:11:54,000
South S Seas headquarters for
Japan, the one they were
220
00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:56,520
launching attacks in Asia and
all over the South Pacific.
221
00:11:56,560 --> 00:12:01,160
So we know that because of our
geographic location, we will
222
00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:06,000
always be, I think in the center
of whoever is the dominant
223
00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:09,360
powers sphere of what they would
like to influence.
224
00:12:09,360 --> 00:12:13,240
And as you know, over the years,
China's influence has grown and
225
00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:16,120
dominance across the Pacific
continues to strengthen.
226
00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:20,120
And over the past few years with
the United States during COVID,
227
00:12:20,120 --> 00:12:22,440
it was important that we had
military visits.
228
00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:25,920
It important that we had US
exercises because even though we
229
00:12:25,920 --> 00:12:29,520
didn't have the numbers of
tourists that we had previously,
230
00:12:29,760 --> 00:12:33,120
well, at least we had military.
For example, 70 Marines that
231
00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:35,600
have been staying on one of our
southern islands working on a
232
00:12:35,600 --> 00:12:39,000
runway for the last three years.
And those Marines of course,
233
00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:42,880
occupy space and hotel and
they've been able to at least
234
00:12:42,880 --> 00:12:46,440
keep that island having
occupancy and all their small
235
00:12:46,680 --> 00:12:49,480
Airbnbs that they have
operating, which, you know,
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there's little things like that
that I think.
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That's great for the economy.
How we help each other.
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So, you know, there there's this
feeling that all the US is out
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there.
They're improving runways,
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they're going to improve the
port, they're building radar
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stations.
And, you know, there's fear that
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this will bring more attention
to Palau.
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And I mean, more risk for if
there's war or some kind of
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activity in the Pacific.
But, you know, I, I try to help
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people understand that most
importantly, we have to partner
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with partners that we share
common values and the United
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States, we, we believe in
freedom and democracy and the
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rule of law.
And most importantly, if the
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United States is strong and
ready to defend not only Palau,
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but the the Pacific, we are safe
and secure.
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And as Trump says, peace through
strength.
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And so it's really about Palau
working with the United States
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to ensure that we have a free
and open Indo Pacific.
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But it's working in the United
States, working with Japan,
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working with Taiwan, working
with Australia and of course the
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European allies, India.
And that's, that's what's
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important.
So having the United States as
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a, as a partner for defense, but
more importantly as a, as a
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development partner.
And one of the things that we've
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been able to just conclude
during my first term was the
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Compact of Free Association,
what we call every 15 years
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there's a review.
So we finished the 15 year
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review.
We kind of set out some economic
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policies and development
assistance for infrastructure
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and, and healthcare and, and the
security and education for the
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next 20 years.
So it's, it's, it's partnering,
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making sure that not only are we
talking about security and
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defense, but we're talking about
building those important social
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services and economic
resilience.
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And one of the things that we're
working with the US now on is,
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is having an investment
conference in in Hawaii in
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February to attract US investors
to really look at the Pacific as
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an investment area.
You know, everybody flies across
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the Asia, but what are the types
of businesses you could have in
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the Pacific and that may work
like a financial center?
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Why can't we have JP Morgan and
Goldman Sachs and them have
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offices in Palau, but have
clients all over Asia?
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I mean, that's, that's why I see
the future is then live in
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paradise.
You can you're almost on the
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same time zone as, as China,
same time zone as Tokyo and
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00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:30,760
Seoul provide those services for
that people need.
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So really looking at how U.S.
investment can change things and
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pull out.
And it was actually one of the
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Biden summers.
I was at the White House and we
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had a meeting with the Chamber
of Commerce or the an industry
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in DC.
And it was at that time I met
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00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:49,640
with the vice president of
United, Steve Morrissey, and I
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00:15:49,640 --> 00:15:54,320
said, you know, I'm working very
hard, fight every airline I can
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00:15:54,320 --> 00:15:58,280
find to open up flights from
Tokyo to Palau.
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00:15:58,520 --> 00:16:01,000
United already has the most
flights into Palau.
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You're the most logical choice.
So why don't you just do it?
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Nice.
And two years later they did it
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and and the good news is that
it's been successful.
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So you know that that's just
that's about partnership.
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00:16:14,240 --> 00:16:16,720
And so the relationship with the
United States has really been
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00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:20,360
key for our economic
development, important for
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00:16:20,360 --> 00:16:23,640
keeping us resilient and of
course providing the security.
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00:16:23,960 --> 00:16:27,800
I think that we all benefit from
to Palau, but also to the world.
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That's awesome.
So what gives you the most hope
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about Plow's future right now?
For maybe folks, you know that
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you get to see the big picture
of this.
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00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:40,680
You get to travel around the
world, you get to be friends
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00:16:40,680 --> 00:16:43,960
with the presidents of the
United States, but not everybody
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00:16:43,960 --> 00:16:45,760
in your country gets to travel
the world.
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What gives you future?
What gives you hope for the
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future of the everyday person
that lives in your country?
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00:16:51,200 --> 00:16:54,920
Well, you know, the challenge
that we have is there's only
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18,000 people in Palm.
So it's a very small economy.
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00:16:58,720 --> 00:17:02,000
In fact, a group from the Boston
Consulting Group said you're
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ideal size to make you really
self-sufficient is you need
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00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:08,079
60,000 people.
But you know, we have about
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00:17:08,079 --> 00:17:11,240
20,000 Palauans that live in the
United States.
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They've all come here in search
of the American dream.
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So really my goal is how do I
provide economic opportunity at
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00:17:20,359 --> 00:17:24,560
home so that those young men and
women can find their way back?
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00:17:24,560 --> 00:17:26,599
Many of them have served in the
US military.
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00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:29,560
What are those opportunities
that we can have to bring them
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00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:32,480
back and build a sustainable
economy?
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And so, and I believe that it is
possible.
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We've seen some of them begin to
come back.
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00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:43,840
The economy has turned around.
We had in 2024 we had 12 point,
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00:17:44,280 --> 00:17:50,120
a little over 12% GDP growth
this year, 2020, last year, 2025
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00:17:50,440 --> 00:17:54,040
we expected to be a little bit
over 6% and next year we hope to
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00:17:54,040 --> 00:18:00,440
be at another 4 percent, 5%.
So we, you know, I tell people
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that there is hope.
We have our challenges, but I
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think we're building a stronger,
more resilient Palau and then,
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you know, using technology.
I think that's what's happening
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now is technology is really
changing the world in the way we
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do things.
And we have one fiber optic
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cable already hooked up, a
second one will be hooked up
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sometime this year.
That'll open up so much capacity
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on the Internet for us and
really direct links to the US
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00:18:26,920 --> 00:18:31,600
West Coast, a Singapore, we have
direct links now a fiber to Guam
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and the Philippines.
So those cables really I think
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will open up new opportunities
for us and and you know that
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00:18:39,360 --> 00:18:42,960
goal of being a financial center
or you know, a corporate center
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00:18:42,960 --> 00:18:45,360
where the businesses can, that
are especially in the digital
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00:18:45,360 --> 00:18:47,920
space can have their businesses
and operate.
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00:18:47,960 --> 00:18:50,720
These are, I think,
opportunities that we're just
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00:18:50,800 --> 00:18:53,400
scratching the surface up, but
there is potential.
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00:18:54,080 --> 00:18:56,760
Have you guys dabbled with
Starlink at all?
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00:18:56,800 --> 00:19:00,040
The Elon Musk's Internet
service, that was your country.
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00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:04,480
Well, we unfortunately have had
to block them from coming into
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Palau because if we allow them
in our fiber optic cable,
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unfortunately we we went out on
loan to buy them.
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00:19:11,320 --> 00:19:14,320
Oh, so you need people using it?
And so if we have too much
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00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:16,440
competition, we can't pay back
the loan.
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00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:17,960
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, so.
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Maybe you know.
Fiber is still faster than
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Starlink.
So it's it's really finding that
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00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:25,840
capacity.
So there was a law to put a
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00:19:25,840 --> 00:19:29,160
moratorium until 2028 and then
opening it up.
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00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:33,040
And so we're but we're thinking
there we have do have some
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remote islands and so we're
trying to talk to Starlink to
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00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:39,800
address the needs on those and
of course boats and other things
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00:19:39,800 --> 00:19:42,200
that are in Palau.
But on the land based stuff,
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we're trying to say for now use
the fiber that we have on the
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00:19:45,480 --> 00:19:49,240
ground, which right now we're
only using 5% of the capacity of
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00:19:49,240 --> 00:19:50,960
the fiber that we.
Have so it's got a lot.
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00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:55,600
Of the second one is hooked up,
we're only using 2.5%, so one of
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00:19:55,600 --> 00:19:57,480
the things that's happening is
we're going to get fiber to
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00:19:57,480 --> 00:19:59,800
everybody's home soon.
Nice.
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00:20:01,840 --> 00:20:05,600
So for my, I want to be mindful
of your time, Mr. President, my
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00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:09,000
last question to you is this.
When people hear this story,
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00:20:09,000 --> 00:20:12,200
they're going to hear people
from all around the US, all over
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00:20:12,200 --> 00:20:15,800
the world really will will be
listening to this podcast and
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00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:17,800
they'll be listening to Plow
Story.
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00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:22,240
What do you hope stays with them
the most as they maybe tune into
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00:20:22,520 --> 00:20:25,560
hearing from a president from a
country that they're first
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00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:27,600
learning about now and being
fascinated by it?
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00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:29,840
What do you hope stays with them
as they hear the story about
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00:20:29,840 --> 00:20:32,160
Palau?
Well, you know, I, I hope that
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they hear that it's, it is
paradise and we welcome you to
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00:20:36,640 --> 00:20:39,360
come and visit.
But we have a, we have a, a
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00:20:39,360 --> 00:20:43,640
policy that when and when any
visitor comes into Palau, your
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00:20:43,640 --> 00:20:47,800
passport gets stamped and it's a
you'd stamp with a Palau pledge.
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00:20:48,160 --> 00:20:51,160
And basically you promise to our
children that you will walk
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00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:54,320
lightly, tread lightly, leave a
minimal impact.
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00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:58,560
Most importantly, only lift
footprints that are in the sand
380
00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:02,360
that are wash away.
That that is our goal is, is
381
00:21:02,360 --> 00:21:05,040
that visitors come and visit,
enjoy Palau.
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00:21:05,040 --> 00:21:08,200
We, we take care of it.
We're proud of it and we want to
383
00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:09,800
see you there, see you, see you
there.
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00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:15,200
That's your way of helping us
being economic Lee resilient,
385
00:21:15,240 --> 00:21:17,080
being able to help our our
people.
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00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:19,760
And that's, that's what about my
message to the when I was
387
00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:26,000
visiting the US Chamber also
Taiwan, I was telling our
388
00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:30,320
friends in Taiwan and and Japan,
we want you also to come and
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00:21:30,320 --> 00:21:33,720
invest in tourism and airlines
and hotels, restaurants,
390
00:21:33,720 --> 00:21:37,120
whatever you can come up with so
that you can share in the
391
00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:39,960
opportunities that Palau has the
offer.
392
00:21:40,040 --> 00:21:42,640
Or if you have ideas on
developing a financial center, I
393
00:21:42,640 --> 00:21:44,800
think we are only scratching the
surface of that.
394
00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:49,040
Also in fishing and aquaculture
is another area that we're
395
00:21:49,320 --> 00:21:52,400
definitely looking to develop.
And we also are looking at how
396
00:21:52,400 --> 00:21:54,960
we can do something about
renewable energy.
397
00:21:55,040 --> 00:21:57,800
We're now at 25%.
We want to get to 100%
398
00:21:58,200 --> 00:21:59,880
renewable.
One of the things that we're
399
00:21:59,880 --> 00:22:03,240
stuck with in the Pacific is we
rely on diesel to power our
400
00:22:03,240 --> 00:22:05,520
generators and that's quite
expensive.
401
00:22:05,960 --> 00:22:10,520
So right now with the cost of
solar and and batteries, the
402
00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:12,840
cost has come down, but you
know, there's other
403
00:22:13,040 --> 00:22:17,320
opportunities out there.
So I think I want your listeners
404
00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:21,360
to know that there's a lot of
opportunity in Palau for
405
00:22:21,360 --> 00:22:27,240
business, but also just come in
and enjoy and explore the
406
00:22:27,560 --> 00:22:30,920
nature, World War 2 history and
also our culture, which goes
407
00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:33,720
back 3000 in years.
And what we've recently
408
00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:35,960
discovered is they say they're
like the pyramids.
409
00:22:36,240 --> 00:22:40,200
We have terraces in Palau.
So yeah, I tried to say that is
410
00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:43,240
the shortest amount of time
possible, but but thank you for
411
00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:47,280
asking.
So for folks interested, I'm
412
00:22:47,280 --> 00:22:50,520
going to stick all the links to
the official tourism website in
413
00:22:50,520 --> 00:22:52,160
the podcast description.
Go check it out.
414
00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:55,600
Go book your flight.
I mean, just go Google plow and
415
00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:58,360
you will see that it is
literally a paradise.
416
00:22:58,360 --> 00:23:01,120
You'll think that it's, you
know, almost too good to be
417
00:23:01,120 --> 00:23:02,480
true, but guess what?
It is true.
418
00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:05,440
So is United probably the best
way for folks in the US to go
419
00:23:05,440 --> 00:23:07,080
get to plow?
Is that probably the best,
420
00:23:07,120 --> 00:23:09,200
easiest way?
Yeah.
421
00:23:09,240 --> 00:23:13,560
So there's there's a most I
think come via United, but
422
00:23:13,560 --> 00:23:16,720
there's also sometimes pretty
good deals on China Airlines and
423
00:23:16,720 --> 00:23:21,560
China Airlines I think flies
from LA, San Francisco, Seattle
424
00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:23,360
to Taipei and then all into
Palau.
425
00:23:23,360 --> 00:23:24,760
And connections are pretty good
too.
426
00:23:24,760 --> 00:23:28,200
So it's like a one stop and
that's four times a week versus
427
00:23:28,640 --> 00:23:30,600
United twice a week out of
Tokyo.
428
00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:35,120
But for Alaska, you just fly to
Honolulu and then it's Honolulu,
429
00:23:35,120 --> 00:23:37,440
Guam and then Palau.
That's awesome.
430
00:23:38,280 --> 00:23:40,320
That's a pretty good.
Well, Mr. President, I
431
00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:42,080
appreciate you joining us.
You're welcome back anytime.