Solomon Islands stands by PIF partner ban

Solomon Islands Foreign Affairs Minister, Peter Shanel Agovaka, is defending his government’s decision to limit the in-person attendance of dialogue partners at next month's Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting (PIFLM) in Honiara.

He has attributed the move to the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat’s failure to fulfil commitments made by leaders during last year’s summit in Tonga.

“Our focus is not on China or Taiwan,” Agovaka says. “Our focus is on the region, the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders' Meeting, and we stuck to the communique that has been the outcome of the Tonga meeting.

“So that is the communique that we based our decision on.”

His comments follow an announcement by Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele, revealing that 21 donor countries, including the United States and China, will not be allowed to attend the leaders’ meeting.

The decision will not affect the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and civil society groups, who have been invited to attend the summit.

NZ Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters and Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele. Photo/Supplied

Agovaka acknowledged that dialogue partners, such as the US and China, provide value to the Forum. But he criticised the current format, which he claims often leads to superficial discussions dominated by pledge announcements.

“They enhance our meetings and I think our dialogue partners are useful in coming to the meetings. One of the issues that I think we should address is what are we going to discuss?

“I think a lot of times the dialogue partners come, it's always like you come to a meeting and then you hold this conference and you pledge something.

Solomon Islands Foreign Affairs Minister, Peter Shanel Agovaka welcomes Austalian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong in Honiara

“It's like dialogue partners coming to just pledge. I think it will be more useful for us to have a proper dialogue.”

He dismisses concerns that excluding dialogue partners could impact funding.

PIF Secretary-General Baron Waqa addresses the challenges of excluding partners, saying, “That’s one of the problems that we’ll have to deal with and manage.

PIF Secretary General Baron Waqa. Photo/PMN News/Ala Vailala

“It’s difficult,” Waqa tells PMN News. “Dialogue partners have a relationship with the region, not just financially, development and issues and things to discuss, but their participation in our priorities - the 2050 strategy, which is a very, very important aspect of our relationship.”

Despite the challenges, Waqa says he’s optimistic about the upcoming leaders’ meeting.

“I'm positive. I think the build-up to the leaders’ meeting has been for me, I feel it's on the right track and everything is shaping up to be okay, especially the agenda item.”