{"id":565,"date":"2026-04-22T04:38:03","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T04:38:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?p=565"},"modified":"2026-04-22T04:38:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T04:38:08","slug":"special-report-veronique-roger-lacan-french-ambassador-and-permanent-secretary-to-the-pacific-makes-historic-micronesia-trip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?p=565","title":{"rendered":"Special Report: V\u00e9ronique Roger-Lacan, French Ambassador and Permanent Secretary to the Pacific makes historic Micronesia Trip"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Photo Sources: Office of the President, Republic of Palau, France\u2019s <\/strong>Permanent Secretary to the Pacific<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Christopher Cottrell<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

April 22, 2026, Palau<\/strong>___Her Excellency V\u00e9ronique Roger-Lacan, the French Ambassador and Permanent Secretary to the Pacific is making a historic engagement campaign between France and Micronesia\u2014to Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, and Marshall Islands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stuck on Pohnpei waiting out Typhoon Sinlaku, Ambassador Roger-Lacan spoke to Micronesia Sun about the overall French mission, sharing some snapshots from her first leg of the journey in Palau. Discussions in FSM were in progress when we spoke on Wednesday April 15, as she waited to fly to Marshall Islands. This is the first in a three part series of France\u2019s campaign to connect French interests in the Pacific with Micronesia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building on French President Emmanuel Macron\u2019s Pacific Islands trips to New Caledonia, Vanuatu, and Papua New Guinea to bolster France’s Indo-Pacific strategy in July of 2023, and his surprise visit to New Caledonia in May 2024 following unrest, Ambassador Roger-Lacan has a mandate to integrate cooperations between French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Wallis and Futuna with the greater Pacific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ambassador Roger-Lacan notes that France is warmly participating to support, \u201c the 2050 Blue Ocean Strategy\u2026We identify with our French assets in French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Wallis and Futuna how we can contribute to regional cooperation and regional integration in the Pacific.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is why she and her team have, \u201ccome to Micronesia based on that. We have looked at whether and how we could support Micronesia in the regional discussions. We want to contribute as much as possible if it is needed to the participation of Micronesia in the regional dynamic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

According to a statement from the Office of the President, Republic of Palau, \u201cThe visit marked an important step forward in the bilateral relationship between Palau and France.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It noted, \u201cDuring the meeting, both leaders explored several areas of opportunity for future cooperation, focusing on improving air travel connections, enhancing maritime security, and expanding educational opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It added, \u201cTo conclude the visit, President Whipps expressed his gratitude to Ambassador Roger-Lacan for France\u2019s continued partnership. He thanked the French government for its continued dedication to supporting Palau and the Pacific region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPresident Whipps has a strong regional leadership as incoming Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF). This is very much welcome, and it\u2019s good for Micronesia,\u201d Ambassador Roger-Lacan stated at an interview with TMC Palau. President Whipps will become chair during the 55th PIF Leaders Meeting from August 30 to September 4, 2026, under the theme “B.E.L.A.U \u2013 Building Economies: Life. Action. Unity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Already she says, \u201cComing here to Palau at least, President Whipps would be very interested in having Accor come in and invest, and open a hotel there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She remarks of her present mission to Micronesia, \u201cWe want to show the Micronesia states that we are very attentive to their needs. Of course, their needs in the field of security and defense are covered by their Compact of Free Association status [with the US], but if there is anything we can do to add on, we will. Plus, we have the Pacific Academy for training in the field of high level professional training in the fiel of security. These days there is an ongoing training in the field of cyber-security and we have representatives from FSM and Palau participating in this class.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

She points out that as part of France\u2019s Indo-Pacific strategy<\/a> of \u201cimplementing rules-based norms, the respect of multilateralism\u201d in the Pacific, \u201cwe have seen in the regional organizations, Micronesia is a bit far away geographically from the centers of those organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She continues, \u201cWe want to get involved with Micronesia, not that we can make everything happen, but we are very interested in coordinating our positions with Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, and Republic of Marshall Islands. In multilateralism, this is very interesting and important.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She adds, \u201cWhere do we have mutual interest, and how do we support each other?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part two and three of this series will discuss this question further for the Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands following the completion of Ambassador Roger-Lacan\u2019s historic French-Micronesia trip.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Photo Sources: Office of the President, Republic of Palau, France\u2019s Permanent Secretary to the Pacific By Christopher Cottrell April 22, 2026, Palau___Her Excellency V\u00e9ronique Roger-Lacan, the French Ambassador and Permanent Secretary to the Pacific is making a historic engagement campaign between France and Micronesia\u2014to Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, and Marshall Islands. Stuck on Pohnpei …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":566,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-news","category-palau"],"yoast_head":"\nSpecial Report: V\u00e9ronique Roger-Lacan, French Ambassador and Permanent Secretary to the Pacific makes historic Micronesia Trip - Micronesia Sun<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?p=565\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Special Report: V\u00e9ronique Roger-Lacan, French Ambassador and Permanent Secretary to the Pacific makes historic Micronesia Trip - Micronesia Sun\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Photo Sources: Office of the President, Republic of Palau, France\u2019s Permanent Secretary to the Pacific By Christopher Cottrell April 22, 2026, Palau___Her Excellency V\u00e9ronique Roger-Lacan, the French Ambassador and Permanent Secretary to the Pacific is making a historic engagement campaign between France and Micronesia\u2014to Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, and Marshall Islands. Stuck on Pohnpei …\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?p=565\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Micronesia Sun\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-22T04:38:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-22T04:38:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-11.23.43-AM-1024x543.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"543\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Christopher Cottrell\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Christopher Cottrell\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?p=565\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?p=565\",\"name\":\"Special Report: V\u00e9ronique Roger-Lacan, French Ambassador and Permanent Secretary to the Pacific makes historic Micronesia Trip - Micronesia Sun\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?p=565#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?p=565#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-11.23.43-AM.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-22T04:38:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-22T04:38:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a687fc00ebb47b69bfa953cef82349f2\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?p=565#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?p=565\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?p=565#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-11.23.43-AM.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-11.23.43-AM.png\",\"width\":2472,\"height\":1312},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?p=565#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Special Report: V\u00e9ronique Roger-Lacan, French Ambassador and Permanent Secretary to the Pacific makes historic Micronesia Trip\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/\",\"name\":\"Micronesia Sun\",\"description\":\"Bright News from the Deep Pacific\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a687fc00ebb47b69bfa953cef82349f2\",\"name\":\"Christopher Cottrell\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f74eee331cf8c90921135e979e9096ae7a004afaf0bd92fdba33b3c8fd31d88?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f74eee331cf8c90921135e979e9096ae7a004afaf0bd92fdba33b3c8fd31d88?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Christopher Cottrell\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?author=2\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Special Report: V\u00e9ronique Roger-Lacan, French Ambassador and Permanent Secretary to the Pacific makes historic Micronesia Trip - Micronesia Sun","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?p=565","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Special Report: V\u00e9ronique Roger-Lacan, French Ambassador and Permanent Secretary to the Pacific makes historic Micronesia Trip - Micronesia Sun","og_description":"Photo Sources: Office of the President, Republic of Palau, France\u2019s Permanent Secretary to the Pacific By Christopher Cottrell April 22, 2026, Palau___Her Excellency V\u00e9ronique Roger-Lacan, the French Ambassador and Permanent Secretary to the Pacific is making a historic engagement campaign between France and Micronesia\u2014to Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, and Marshall Islands. Stuck on Pohnpei …","og_url":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?p=565","og_site_name":"Micronesia Sun","article_published_time":"2026-04-22T04:38:03+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-22T04:38:08+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":543,"url":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-11.23.43-AM-1024x543.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Christopher Cottrell","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Christopher Cottrell","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?p=565","url":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?p=565","name":"Special Report: V\u00e9ronique Roger-Lacan, French Ambassador and Permanent Secretary to the Pacific makes historic Micronesia Trip - Micronesia Sun","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?p=565#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?p=565#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-11.23.43-AM.png","datePublished":"2026-04-22T04:38:03+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-22T04:38:08+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a687fc00ebb47b69bfa953cef82349f2"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?p=565#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?p=565"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?p=565#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-11.23.43-AM.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Screenshot-2026-04-22-at-11.23.43-AM.png","width":2472,"height":1312},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?p=565#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Special Report: V\u00e9ronique Roger-Lacan, French Ambassador and Permanent Secretary to the Pacific makes historic Micronesia Trip"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/","name":"Micronesia Sun","description":"Bright News from the Deep Pacific","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a687fc00ebb47b69bfa953cef82349f2","name":"Christopher Cottrell","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f74eee331cf8c90921135e979e9096ae7a004afaf0bd92fdba33b3c8fd31d88?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f74eee331cf8c90921135e979e9096ae7a004afaf0bd92fdba33b3c8fd31d88?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Christopher Cottrell"},"url":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/?author=2"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=565"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":572,"href":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/565\/revisions\/572"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/micronesiasun.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}