Honiara, 14 August 2026 — Prime Minister Hon. Matthew Wale has held discussions with senior Pacific Community (SPC) officials on strengthening technical cooperation across key Solomon Islands development priorities, including ocean management, maritime boundaries, fisheries, climate change, renewable energy, agriculture and natural resources.
On Wednesday 12 August, an SPC delegation led by the Director-General Dr. Paula Vivili of Tonga briefed the Prime Minister on current programmes SPC is implementing with various government ministries in the country. He committed to ensure SPC’s programs and technical assistance are aligned to with Government priorities.
Maritime boundaries were a key focus. Mr Tony Kabasi, Team Leader for SPC’s Ocean Management and Literacy, accompanying the Director-General, updated the Prime Minister on SPC’s work on maritime boundaries. He noted that, working with Solomon Islands ministry officials, SPC hopes to have the final maritime boundary between Solomon Islands and PNG ready for signing by the two Prime Ministers at this year’s Forum Leaders Meeting in Palau.
SPC is also supporting Solomon Islands’ submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf to secure sovereign rights over seabed areas beyond its territorial waters.
The Director General and his team comprising mostly Solomon Island staff of the organisation and Director of SPC’s Melanesian Sub-regional Office in Vanuatu, briefed the Prime Minister on the scope of SPC’s work in Solomon Islands.
Prime Minister Wale welcomed the support, stressing the importance of building national capacity to sustainably manage and benefit from the country’s ocean resources.
Fisheries and coastal livelihoods were also discussed, including tuna sustainability and translating scientific assessments into benefits for local communities and fishers. The Prime Minister raised concerns about declining catches among local fishermen and lives lost at sea, highlighting the importance of coastal fisheries, food security and livelihoods.
Energy was another priority. Prime Minister Wale outlined efforts to expand renewable energy and reduce electricity costs, including Tina-hydro 15-megawatt hydropower project. He also sought SPC support for Solomon Islands’ application to the Green Climate Fund. He also shared his government’s vision to solar energy and other renewable energy options.
The meeting also discussed scientific and technical support for sea-bed minerals, terrestrial mining, geology and natural resource management. Prime Minister Wale emphasised the importance of institutions such as the SPC to build a pool of expertise to provide members independent technical advice and strong scientific evidence to ensure resource development and utilisation in member countries is responsible and delivers long-term national benefits.
SPC agreed to government’s suggestion that it works with government to produce a revolving three-year joint country strategy to better coordinate its support. Prime Minister Wale welcomed the proposal and also expressed his wish to see more Solomon Islanders joining organisations such as the SPC to provide services to the wider Pacific region.
The Director General observed that the distribution of Pacific Islander staffing at SPC’s is still work in progress noting that larger populated countries such as Solomon Islands and PNG are under-represented.
“SPC is an important regional partner for Solomon Islands. We want to ensure its technical expertise and resources are aligned with our national priorities and help us make better-informed decisions for our people,” Prime Minister Wale said.
