Solomon Islands minister for Aviation and Communications Frederick Kologeto yesterday met and discussed challenges and shared priorities with Fiji’s Minister for Information Lynda Tabuya.

Tabuya was part of Fiji’s delegation attending the 54th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Honiara along with Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka.

At their meeting, Tabuya expressed her gratitude to Kologeto for the opportunity to exchange knowledge and strengthen cooperation, underscoring the close ties and longstanding friendship between the two Pacific nations.

She also highlighted the key functions of Fiji’s Ministry of Information, at the same time, outlined challenges faced in the sector, including limited financial resources, the impacts of artificial intelligence, cyber-attacks, online harassment, defamation, and bullying.

She shared that Fiji continues to work with relevant stakeholders to strengthen policies and standard operating procedures to effectively respond to these issues.

Minister Tabuya also took the opportunity to brief Kologeto on the ongoing review of legislation in Fiji, including the Online Safety Act, with a view to addressing gaps in the current framework.

She explained that the review seeks to strengthen protections against online abuse and explore the introduction of a potential duty of care for platforms and internet service providers to mitigate online harm.

In her concluding remarks, Tabuya expressed Fiji’s keen interest in working with Solomon Islands and the wider Pacific region for more areas of collaboration in an effort to further boost the region’s information sector.

In response, Kologeto shared that Solomon Islands also faces similar challenges, stressing the importance of cooperation.

He welcomed Fiji’s insights and stressed that continued knowledge sharing, training, and partner support would be critical for both countries in mitigating current and emerging threats.

It was also discussed in the meeting that continued knowledge sharing and training, support from partners will help both countries in mitigating the current and emerging challenges faced in the information sector.

The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening bilateral and regional cooperation in the information sector, with a shared vision of building resilient, informed, and protected societies for the peoples of Fiji and Solomon Islands.