On Friday is the National Day of The Marshall Islands.

The Marshall Islands are a Micronesian island nation in the western Pacific Ocean, located north of Nauru and Kiribati, east of the Federated States of Micronesia and south of the United States territory of Wake Island, to which it lays claim. There are roughly 60,000 persons inhabiting the islands.

Although the Marshall Islands were settled by Micronesians in the 2nd millennium, BC, little is known of their early history. Spanish explorer Alonso de Salazar was the first European to sight the Marshall Islands in 1526, but they remained virtually unvisited by Europeans for several more centuries, before the arrival of British Captain John Marshall in 1788. The islands owe their name to him.

A German trading company settled on the islands in 1885, and they became part of the protectorate of German New Guinea some years later. Japan conquered the islands in World War I, and administered them as a League of National mandate. In 1944, the United States invaded and occupied the islands.

United States government assistance is the mainstay of the economy. Agricultural production is concentrated on small farms and the most important commercial crops are coconuts, tomatoes, melons, and breadfruit. Small-scale industry is limited to handicrafts, fish processing, and copra.

We congratulate the people and government of The Marshall Islands led by H.E. President Litokwa Tomeing, on the occasion of their National Day.