Solomon Islands Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale has urged Pacific island countries must work to address issues of regional importance.
Wale, the new Pacific Islands Forum chairman, said there were many development challenges affecting the region and stronger partnerships were needed to address them.
He joined Prime Minister James Marape during a media conference in Port Moresby on Friday.
“We are looking to Papua New Guinea not only in terms of leadership, but also collaboration to address common issues and challenges,” he said.
“We are also trying to reach consensus in the region on important issues, one of which is regional security. This was one of the main areas that we discussed.”
Wale added that the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) was another important platform that needed to be better used to focus efforts on addressing issues of its member countries.
“The MSG is an important platform that we can use to specifically focuses on our interests in the region,” he said.
“We have had some discussions around what should be happening as here have been some disappointments generally with the MSG that it could be more effective and have more robust processes in place.
“That is something that I think we must continue together to work on going forward.
“We want an MSG that is effective and not become a pushover.”
Wale said that discussions on West Papua were also brought up during his meeting with Marape, which was focused on addressing the matter in a peaceful manner that followed due process.
“We discussed briefly on the issue of our people in West Papua,” he said.
“We want to be good friends with Indonesia so we do not antagonise them.
“But we are concerned about the situation in West Papua and have made suggestions on how the dialogue with Indonesia could happen that would encourage less paranoia about the rights of our Melanesian brothers and sisters.
“There is no need to hide away from the issues of West Papua.
“We need to talk about these things openly,” Wale said.
Meanwhile, Papua New Guinea has an important role in strengthening regional security to ensure the borders of Pacific Island countries are protected, says Prime Minister James Marape.
Marape said security and policing cooperation were discussed during a meeting with Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale in Port Moresby on Friday.
They discussed the potential for Solomon Islands police personnel to access training opportunities at the Bomana National Centre of Excellence in the National Capital District.
Police Minister Sir John Pundari and Police Commissioner David Manning also attended the meeting.
“We must build a security architecture that is fitting for our people and for our region,” Marape said.
“We will work together to defend our waters, address illegal fishing, fight drug trafficking and confront the crimes that affect our homes and communities.”
He said the Government was prepared to work with Honiara and other partners to strengthen regional security arrangements, improve training and build joint capacity against illegal fishing, drug trafficking, transnational crime and other emerging
threats.
“PNG and Solomon Islands are custodians of vast marine resources and must work together to ensure that the economic benefits from tuna and other fisheries resources are retained more strongly in Pacific economies,” Marape said.
“Our greatest potential lies in fish and fish resources. Together with our brothers and sisters in the Pacific, we hold a major share of the world’s tuna resources.
“We must not remain poor while our ocean resources create wealth for others.”
Papua New Guinea has offered to the Solomon Island its experience in mining policy and resource governance to develop a modern mining regime that maximises benefits for its people.
Prime Minister James Marape, during talks with his counterpart Matthew Wale in Port Moresby , said PNG had learnt valuable lessons over decades of resource development – both successes and mistakes – and was ready to share those experiences with its Melanesian neighbour.
“As you develop your mining laws, it is important to get them right from the beginning,” Marape said.
“PNG is still refining its own resource laws, but we have accumulated decades of experience.
“We are prepared to send our resource lawyers and technical experts to work with your team so that together we can develop policies that deliver long-term benefits for our people,” he said.
