by Charley Piringi
in Honolulu
Solomon Islands Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele has met the United States Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau today to reaffirm his country’s commitment to working closely with the US toward a future full Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Compact Arrangement.
The United States is pleased with Solomon Islands’ consistent advancement with the US$20 million (approximately SBD 170 million) MCC Threshold Program, and has indicated the possibility of a future Compact agreement if the current reform trajectory is maintained.
Chief of staff of the MCC, Dan Patrie, confirmed that the Threshold agreement with Solomon Islands will run until August 2027.
“We have a $20 million threshold agreement with Solomon Islands that will continue through August of 2027,” Patrie said, adding that discussions were held with Prime Minister Manele during meetings in Honolulu.
Patrie said the program has been progressing well and that recent assessments of Solomon Islands’ performance scorecard showed encouraging improvements.
“We’re encouraged by the progress that has been made,” the official said, adding that MCC staff were recently in Honiara to review developments.
However, the agency said that the immediate focus is on successfully completing the current Threshold Program before any decision is made on a larger Compact agreement.
“It’s important that we finish strong on the program that we have and then assess,” Patrie said.
The MCC Board of Directors meets annually to determine eligibility for new Compact agreements. Such compacts typically provide significantly larger funding packages focused on infrastructure and economic reform.
“With geopolitical competition in the region, we respect Solomon Islands’ sovereignty, and MCC engagement is guided by a country’s own development priorities.
“We understand countries have choices. Ultimately, we want to engage with you based on your own development path,” Patrie added.
The Solomon Islands was chosen by the MCC Board of Directors in December 2018 to create a threshold program.
Subsequently, in January 2022, the Government of Solomon Islands and the MCC formalized this by signing a $20 million threshold program agreement.
The MCC Threshold Program and Compact Agreement are aimed at supporting economic reform, sustainable growth, and poverty reduction.
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