The Solomon Islands and the Pacific Community have signed a new cooperation agreement establishing a Country Programme framework for national development activities over the next 3 years. The Country Program will focus on key priorities within the National Development Strategy, including agriculture, NCDs, food security and the voluntary national reporting on SDGs.
The agreement was signed by the Solomon Islands Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Milner Tozaka, and the SPC’s Deputy Director General, Dr. Audrey Aumua, during a small ceremony in Honiara.
Minister Tozaka, expressed his confidence in Solomon Islands SPC membership and highlighted the expectations his nation has for the Country Programme plan saying, “This agreement will help ensure that the Solomon Islands continues to make dramatic progress towards its development objectives. With support from SPC we will integrate our activities and invest in multi-sectoral programming activities for the benefit of all our people.”
The Island nation has been a regional leader in innovative programs and activities and is already looking at ways that the new Country Programme can support these cutting edge ideas. One interesting initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture is to adapt the provincial Youth@Work programme into a national effort for engaging youth in Agriculture. The programme will inspire the next generation of farmers to develop and produce value added local food products to help decrease import and consumption of NCD-causing foods and to build pathway to expanded food security for the nation.
Dr. Aumua praised the significant progress already achieved in the Solomon Islands, and welcomed the new agreement as another example of the strong and productive relationship between the Solomon Islands and the Pacific Community, “SPC is proud of its historic role in helping the Solomon Islands reach its increasingly ambitious development objectives. This Country Programme sets an even higher bar, and shows that the Solomon Islands will remain a regional leader with a clear vision for creating a sustainable future for its people”.
The Solomon Islands has been a member of the Pacific Community since 1978. In 2017 the Solomon Islands and the Pacific Community were engaged in 16 country specific and 49 multi-country activities, covering a broad scope of areas including port audits, energy performance standards, natural resource policy, and household income and expenditure survey’s.
Media contacts:
Gladys Luahiti, Chief Desk Officer, Regional Economic Cooperation Branch, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Affairs, Solomon Islands | E: [email protected]
Peter Foster, Director Communications, The Pacific Community (SPC) | E: [email protected]
About Us:
The Pacific Community (SPC) is an international development organisation gathering 26 Member Countries and Territories. SPC harnesses science, knowledge and innovation for the sustainable development of Pacific people, since 1947. www.spc.int