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The Government has pledged sweeping reforms to the country’s mining sector following the recent tragedy at Gold Ridge, declaring that Solomon Islands’ mineral wealth must benefit its people rather than leave communities bearing the costs. Deputy Prime Minister Francis Sade made the commitment while responding to concerns raised by Guadalcanal…
Deputy Prime Francis Sade says the Government acknowledge Guadalcanal Province’s call for provincial audits across the country to be brought up to date and delivered annually. Sade was speaking today at Guadalcanal Province’s 42nd Second Appointed Day celebrations in Honiara. Guadalcanal Premier Willie Atu, in his official address at the…
Guadalcanal Province has renewed its push to become a state under a future federal system of government, with Premier Willie Atu announcing the province’s ambition to achieve statehood by 2028. Speaking at the province’s 42nd Second Appointed Day celebration in Honiara today, Atu said Guadalcanal’s aspiration for statehood remained stronger…
Prime Minister Matthew Wale will officially open the inaugural Papua New Guinea–Solomon Islands Investment Conference as keynote speaker when the landmark bilateral event is held in Honiara on 19–20 August 2026. The conference, hosted by the Solomon Islands Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) and the Papua New Guinea–Solomon Islands…
A leading Solomon Islands international maritime law expert says the Ship Rider Agreement does not compromise the nation’s sovereignty or violate international law. Professor Transform Aqorau, Vice Chancellor of Solomon Islands National University (SINU) and one of the Pacific’s foremost authorities on the Law of the Sea, said Ship Rider…
A Solomon Islands academic has dismissed claims that the recently signed Shiprider Agreement with the United States undermines the country’s sovereignty, arguing that critics are conflating political concerns with legal principles. Dr Joe Foukona, an Assistant Professor in the Department of History at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa whose…
Leader of the Independent Group, Peter Shanel Agovaka, has called on the Government to immediately table the recently signed Ship Rider Agreement in Parliament, saying it should be the first test of Prime Minister Matthew Wale’s commitment to greater parliamentary oversight of security agreements. Agovaka welcomed the Prime Minister’s recent…
by Georgina Maka’a The maritime security agreement Solomon Islands signed with the United States on Tuesday will be made publicly available, Government says. “The document contains no non-disclosure provisions preventing either country from releasing its contents,” a statement the Government issued tonight said. The Prime Minister’s Office further clarified Cabinet…
Media were not deliberately excluded from Tuesday’s signing of the Solomon Islands-United States Shiprider Agreement, Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (OPMC) says. The media could not witness the signing event due to last-minute change in arrangements caused by poor weather and safety concerns, it added. OPMC was responding…
The United States has insisted its newly signed Shiprider Agreement with Solomon Islands is designed to strengthen, not undermine, the country’s sovereignty. And it says the arrangement leaves all law enforcement powers firmly in the hands of Solomon Islands authorities. Speaking after the agreement was signed in Honiara on Tuesday,…
