Annette Note, the president's daughter and a Marshallese foreign service officer, was among the 92 graduates of the most recent 12-week course. The president stopped here for the graduation and two days of rest, and then will leave for Taipei.

After the ceremony, Kessai Note said that many of Hawai'i's approximately 3,000 Marshallese residents are here to stay, while others hope to continue on to the Mainland.

Other states with growing Marshallese communities include Arkansas, Texas and Washington, he said.

"Hawai'i is the closest," he said. "This is more or less a gateway, where they can get an education, and then follow the market like anyone else to pursue job opportunities."

Note said that in negotiations for the current compact between his country and the United States, he lobbied for aid to help Hawai'i and other American destination states and territories provide services to their Marshallese population.

He was referring to aid — which this year totaled $10.6 million for Hawai'i — authorized in the compacts of free association, which Congress signed a year ago. The compacts allow migration from the Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Palau and Republic of the Marshall Islands to U.S. territories, in exchange for U.S. military access to the region.

Although the president acknowledged the ongoing need for health services, educational needs — for both formal schooling and the vocational preparation to enter the job force — seem paramount, he said.

"We would hope that the states provide assistance to get them started," he said. "They need to work here, get a good education, so they can get a decent job."

Note said his government also wants the Marshallese to bring their new education and skills home to help lead the country through difficult times ahead. The security studies institute, he said, is one source of training for government employees.

The United States relies on its ties with the Marshall Islands for various military purposes. Most recently, the Missile Defense Agency announced flight tests of its new defense system, including the firing of an interceptor missile from the Marshallese republic's Kwajalein Island.

However, Note sees global warming, rising sea levels and other environmental threats as the most worrisome security issue at home. The international initiative to combat climate changes through the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, an accord known as the Kyoto protocol, is a start.

The Marshalls are on the front lines of this crisis, Note said.

"One big tidal wave would wipe out some of my country," he said. "For the short term, we're working on putting up barriers, disaster mitigation and other things.

"At present, environmental degradation is possibly the most pressing issue ... our people are so much attached to their land."