The French Government will assist Solomon Islands in combating drug trafficking, illegal fishing and demining operations in the country’s waters.
French Ambassador to the Pacific, Véronique Roger-Lacan, confirmed this in an exclusive interview with the Solomon Star in Honiara on Monday.
She said President Emmanuel Macron informed Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele about the “Pacific Academy” during their sideline meeting at the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice.
“President Macron mentioned that there is this Pacific Academy that we established two years ago, which is a high-level professional security training institution. There are opportunities also for Solomon Islands.
“This includes military and civil-military training, as well as areas such as police, border police, customs, judiciary and good governance.
“All of these will be taught at the Pacific Academy. Prime Minister Manele indicated his interest to work with us,” she said.
Ambassador Roger-Lacan said two Solomon Islands police officers have already completed military leaders’ command training in Nouméa.
She said the training programme will continue, and her current visit aims to explore tailored cooperation in areas including drug trafficking, illegal fishing, customs control, and intelligence sharing.
“This is something we want to look at, and it follows a request by Prime Minister Manele,” she added.
The Ambassador also revealed that French armed forces based in New Caledonia are keen to visit Solomon Islands, noting that they can offer significant support through civil-military cooperation, particularly in patrolling and protecting the Solomon Islands Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
She highlighted France’s existing framework to combat illegal fishing.
“It involves ship-riding. The vessel D’Entrecasteaux will be in the region in June, and we are proposing to embark Solomon Islands officers on board for joint anti-illegal fishing operations,” she said.
Roger-Lacan further noted that France is ready to support demining efforts in Solomon Islands waters.
“We know that because of the history of Guadalcanal, there are still many unexploded munitions in your ocean. We can work together on demining,” she said.
Ambassador Lacan and her team will return back to New Caledonia on Wednesday.
