Governor Togiola to visit Samoan soldiers in Korea
during two-week trip

The brave sons and daughters of American Samoa who are serving in the US Armed Forces and stationed in Seoul, South Korea will receive a special visit from Governor Togiola and First Lady Mary Ann Tulafono who departed the territory last night.
“While we have the opportunity, our trip there is to say thank you for your commitment to service,” Togiola said.

“I truly enjoy hearing and reading about the wonderful work that our soldiers and ROKSA continue to do to promote unity and harmony, and especially our Samoan culture in Korea,” he added. “We are very excited that we will be meeting and visiting with our soldiers, and we really look forward to it.”

 According to the Governor, he continues to receive emails and letters from Samoan military personnel on tour of duty in Korea, telling him of the great things they continue to do as a Samoan family unit away from home, through their organization called the Republic of Korea Samoan Association, or ROKSA.

Before heading to the Far East, the Governor and the First Lady will first make a stop in Guam, to attend the Conference on Business Opportunities in the Islands that begins Monday, October 8th.

“It’s an honor to have this opportunity to travel to the northwestern part of the Pacific to the business opportunities conference because it also allows me to continue on to Korea to meet and visit our Samoan soldiers and their families who are stationed there,” said Governor Togiola.

The two-day conference in Guam is the fourth meeting organized and sponsored by the Department of the Interior (DOI) to stimulate business opportunities in the U.S. territories. The previous three conferences were held in Los Angeles, American Samoa, and Honolulu.

“The DOI conference is a great opportunity to meet and forge partnerships with business and investment companies to set up business in American Samoa and other U.S. territories,” said Togiola. “As we’ve done in other business opportunities conferences, we continue to promote the Territory as a great place to invest, set up and do business, and at the same time it allows us to see and learn ways on how to improve the marketing of American Samoa to potential investors.”

Representatives from other offices within the American Samoa Government including the Department of Commerce, departed for Guam earlier this week to prepare for the event and the Governor’s arrival.

Others who will be attending the conference include local private business owners who paid their own way there, in hopes of gaining valuable information and insight.

Governor Togiola and the First Lady will return to the Territory on October 21st.