control of local immigration matters. This was important because an adequate supply of skilled labour was essential to development and investment. 74. The Special Representative stated that some $24 million in war damage claims remained unpaid to Micronesian claimants, half of whom were in the Northern Mariana Islands. The stumbling block had been an agreement signed in 1969 relieving one party of any future liability for war damages; no Micronesian representatives, however, had been consulted reqarding that agreement. The Northern Mariana Islands requested the Trusteeship Council to urge the parties to resolve the claims issue inl985. 75. The Northern Mariana Islands would benefit greatly from aid from international orqanizations and countries other than the United States. The Administering -ll- Authority, however, citing foreign policy and sovereignty implications, had not supported its desire to participate in foreign aid programmes. The Northern Mariana Islands believed that the United States should establish a list of Specific countries from which it could request aid. The countries most likely to give assistance, such as Japan, were strong allies of the united States. 76. The Northern Mariana Islands unequivocally supported the passage of the compacts of free association and extended its congratulations to f,ellOW Micronesia& for concluding excellent agreements with the United States. It urged the Trusteeship Council to give its full support for the compacts, which would fulfil the dreams of all Micronesians’for self-government based on the freely expressed wishes,of the Micronesibn peoples. 77. The Special Representative recalled that in 1975, in a plebiscite observed by the United Nations, the people of the Northern Mariana Islands had voted overwhelmingly to join the United States as a Commonwealth. ‘With the termination of the’ Trusteeship Agreement, the provisions of the Covenant z/ would become fully effective. In the meantime,. relations w.ith the United’ States under’ the bilateral 
**Analysis**
The text primarily discusses the economic and political development of the Northern Mariana Islands, specifically the issues of immigration, war damage claims, and foreign aid. It highlights the importance of skilled labor and the need for international cooperation to achieve self-government and economic growth.

**Category**
Economic development, International trade