Signing Ceremony for Palau Submarine Cable Project

On January 13th, 2021, Belau Submarine Cable Corporation and the Government of Palau signed the documents of the loan agreement for Palau Submarine Cable Project with the financial institutions from Japan and Australia in Koror. From Japan side, Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) co-finance the loan for the project. NEC Corporation, Japanese IT company, also joins the project as a cable provider.
 
The ceremony was attended by H.E. President Remengesau, Mr. President-elect Whipps, Honorable Minister Sadang, Honorable Minister Marugg, Honorable Minister Obichang, H.E. Karasawa, Ambassador of Japan to Palau, H.E. Turner, Ambassador of Australia to Palau, H.E. Hennessy-Niland, Ambassador of the United States to Palau and other distinguished guests in Palau. The ceremony used an online meeting platform that enabled some representatives from Japanese, Australian and American organizations to join the ceremony online.
 
The project is the very first case conducted under ‘the Trilateral Partnership for Infrastructure Investment in the Indo-Pacific’ between Japan, Australia and the United States. Hence, it will be a symbolic project of the trilateral relationship between Japan, Australia and the United States for their pursuit of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.
 
The Palau’s new submarine cable will be constructed as a branch unit of the submarine cable between the United States and Singapore. We hope that this project will strengthen communication infrastructure, increase communication capacity and accelerate the growth and investment in the private sector in Palau.