At the heart of the successful Solomon Islands – Australia Partnership is collaboration with local businesses. This collaboration creates jobs and boosts sales and exports, which ultimately generates extra income for households across Solomon Islands.

Last year, the Solomon Islands – Australia Partnership worked with 50 local businesses across tourism, cocoa, coconut, sustainable timber, recycling and seaweed farming. I have been to eight of the country’s provinces and seen beautiful and unique landscapes, including stunning beaches and world-class dive sites. It’s easy to see why Solomon Islands attracts so many Australian tourists. In fact, Australia is the nambawan source of tourists to Solomon Islands.

We have partnered with 16 tourism operators to upgrade facilities and improve offerings to cater for and attract more tourists. Even our recent partnership to subsidise the costs of solar powered freezers for remote businesses benefitted tourism operators as it gave their business reliable cold storage. With these improved facilities and better access, I am confident we will see even more Australians visiting the Hapi Isles.

^{_{Australia is proud to be the first donor partner to work with LF & Sons – the sixth-largest exporter in Solomon Islands, with 290,000kg of exports in 2023. Credits: Australian High Com.}}

Another common sight in the country is the beautiful swaying coconut palm trees. We know the coconut tree is not just an important part of a Solomon Islanders’ daily diet but also a major source of income. This is why we partnered with local company Islands’ Own to secure more coconut supplies and support more coconut farmers and their families. With Australian support, Islands’ Own is now the supplier of desiccated coconut to Bulkshop and has increased incomes for over 120 households in West Guadalcanal worth SBD 167,579 last year.

In the cocoa sector, Australia has partnered with LF & Sons for the first time to improve the supplies and storing of cocoa beans in Malaita Province. This partnership will mean more farmers can sell more of their cocoa beans and create more economic opportunities for the local communities.

Australia’s work in the horticulture space has benefited Solomon Islanders, particularly women who make up 75% of the jobs in the sector and supports over 80% of the country’s population through food security and income generation. One of our recent business partners, Goshen, has provided greater market opportunities for over 150 taro sellers. Importantly many of these sellers are women.

Another key component of our partnerships with local businesses is the use of sustainable timber. We know Solomon Islands has a rich natural forest which is why we have partnered with the Value-Added Timber Association (VATA) to encourage sustainable forestry. The late Minister of Forestry and Research Honourable Makario Tagini and I signed the VATA partnership to promote sustainable timber production. By supporting smallholder farmers to harvest, mill, and export their plantation timber, we are creating sustainable economic opportunities for rural communities while safeguarding the country’s environmental future.

_{^{Upgrades at Haidakirio under the Solomon Islands Australia Partnership. Credits: Australian High Com.}}

Still on sustainability, Australia has partnered with Cheroa Waste Management Services to address Honiara’s waste management challenges. By actively promoting waste segregation and providing waste bins and regular waste collection, over 230 households in Honiara are benefitting from improved waste collection services.

Australia is looking to expand support into more sectors, including seaweed. Local farmers are already producing high-quality Eucheuma seaweed in Choiseul and Western Provinces. There is potential to grow seaweed exports, and so Australia is happy to partner with a local seaweed exporter to export seaweed directly from Noro international port.

These are just some examples of how our partnership with local businesses is driving local jobs and income in communities across Solomon Islands Australia will continue supporting Solomon Islanders and growing the Solomon Islands economy together.

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