Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare met with President Xi Jinping of China in a significant high-level bilateral meeting. The prime minister personally congratulated President Xi Jinping on his recent election as the President of the People’s Republic of China.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Sogavare expressed admiration for President Xi Jinping’s visionary leadership on various issues and conveyed sincere greetings and best wishes from the Government and people of Solomon Islands to the Government and people of China.
Prime Minister Sogavare highlighted the positive reception of the visit by China’s former Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Solomon Islands last year, emphasizing the National government and people’s appreciation for the high-level engagement.
Explaining the purpose of his current visit, Prime Minister Sogavare stated, “I am here to strengthen our friendship and inform the President of how proud we are to witness the tangible outcomes of our relations, which are transforming the landscape of my capital and country.”
The prime minister’s delegation aims to solidify further cooperation and explore opportunities for collaboration, both in the public and private sectors, with two provinces. He also emphasized the continuous growth of people-to-people relations.
“Mr. President, I assure you that Solomon Islands adheres to the One China policy and does not support any actions that provoke tensions on your territory by those pursuing narrow agendas,” Prime Minister Sogavare affirmed. “As the world rapidly changes, the principles guiding our relations, such as equality, respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, non-interference, and mutual benefit, also evolve.”
Prime Minister Sogavare reiterated, “China remains a special friend to Solomon Islands, and we hope to witness this relationship deepen further, fostering progress, prosperity, and partnership.”
Furthermore, Prime Minister Sogavare expressed gratitude to China for the generous cash assistance of $10 million through the Rural Sustainable Development Programme (RSDP).
The leaders also discussed various areas of mutual cooperation, including budgetary support, airport extension, national ID cards, maritime hydro equipment, environment, disaster and humanitarian cooperation, infrastructure development, health cooperation, police and security cooperation. Prime Minister Sogavare extended an offer for Solomon Islands to host China-Pacific pre-deployed Disaster Emergency Supplies under the China-Pacific disaster cooperation mechanism. Other areas of cooperation encompassed international trade and investment promotion, Chinese language education, and sports cooperation.
President Xi Jinping assured Solomon Islands of China’s commitment to strengthening current relations, expanding and deepening cooperation in education, trade and economy, science and technology, people-to-people and cultural exchanges, health, and successful implementation of development projects.
The high-level bilateral meeting concluded with optimism for the future of the relationship between Solomon Islands and China.
Source: OPMC Press Secretariat
