PREMIERS of Solomon Islands’ nine provinces are due to leave for China on a two-week visit starting on 15 October 2023.
Several premiers In-depth Solomons spoke to have confirmed the upcoming trip, which many saw as China’s push to win the hearts and minds of Solomon Islands’ leaders.
The premiers were supposed to take the trip in August, but this did not happen.
Instead, China took in more than 20 government officials, mostly from the Ministry of Rural Development (MRD), to travel and learn about rural development there.
The premiers are the latest group invited to China after Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare controversially switched diplomatic ties from Taiwan to China in 2019.
The first group to visit were journalists from Solomon Islands main news outlets.
Prime Minister Sogavare and his ministers have so far made two visits – the first immediately after switching ties, the second being in July this year.
On both visits, Sogavare met Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping and signed several bilateral agreements.
In their upcoming visit, the premiers are expected to establish special sister relationships with various provinces in China and sign agreements.
The Chinese embassy in Honiara and the Office of the Prime Minister have not spoken publicly about the premiers’ trip.
But non-executive members of the Western Provincial Government have expressed their concerns about their premier, Billy Veo, taking the trip when he is supposed to be at home conducting their scheduled budget meeting.
They questioned the benefits Western Province will derive from such a trip at this time of the year.
“This visit will disrupt our budget session, which is scheduled for October,” the group said in a statement.
“Any gain will be very minimal,” they added.
The group also questioned the involvement of the Office of the Prime Minister in arranging the trip.
“Is it necessary?”
“Is this not consistent with the refusal of our Prime Minister to attend the Pacific leaders’ summit in the White House with the President of the United States of America?”
The group urged Premier Veo not to join the trip but stay home to conduct the province’s budget meeting.
