Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea::Β Prime Minister Hon. James Marape has welcomed visiting Solomon Islands Prime Minister Hon. Matthew Wale to Papua New Guinea, describing the Visit as a significant reaffirmation of the deep Melanesian, Christian,cultural and economic bonds that have long united the two neighbouring nations.
Prime Minister Marape and Prime Minister Wale today held a Bilateral Meeting at Melanesian Haus in Port Moresby, accompanied by Ministers and Senior Officials from both Governments, before addressing a Joint Press Conference. The leaders concluded their Meeting by signing the Framework Agreement on Development and Economic Cooperation 2026β2030, which will guide a new five-year phase of practical partnership between Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. The Agreement will strengthen cooperation in investment, trade and commerce, mining and other resource sectors, fisheries, agriculture, State-Owned Enterprises, policing and security, maritime cooperation, and regional affairs. Prime Minister Marape said the Agreement reflected a shared determination by both Governments to turn the natural wealth of their land and oceans into greater opportunity, economic security and lasting benefits for their people.
βToday, I want to announce that theculmination of our Meeting concluded with ussigning the Framework Agreement on Development and Economic Cooperationbetween 2026 and 2030,β Prime Minister Marape said. βAs two people from the same ancestry and same history, it isimportant that we co-exist, understand each other and work side by side.βPrime Minister Marape thanked Prime Minister Wale for making Papua New Guinea one of his early destinations following hiselection as Solomon Islands Prime Minister recently, saying the visit came at an important time for both nations. Papua NewGuinea is continuing its 50th Independence Anniversary period, while Solomon Islands will celebrate its 50th Anniversary ofIndependence in 2028. The Prime Minister said the two countriesβ relationship was far deeper than their respectiveIndependence dates, rooted in longstanding kinship, Melanesian identity, Christian faith, culture, family ties and historicalexchanges between their peoples.
βBefore there was a sovereign border, we were people of Melanesia living on this part ofthe earth,β Prime Minister Marape said. βWe share the same culture, the same people, the same heritage and the sameethnicity. We have also become deeply Christian nations, and this Melanesian Christian heritage is an important part of thecharacter of both our peoples.βPrime Minister Marape said Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands faced many similar National and Regional challenges,including economic development, security, border management, climate change, the protection of ocean resources andnavigating geopolitical developments in the wider Pacific. He said these common challenges required the two countries towork closely together in Regional institutions, especially the Pacific Islands Forum, the Melanesian Spearhead Group and otherPacific mechanisms. βTogether, we are stronger,β Prime Minister Marape said. βOur ocean has substantial wealth, our landhas substantial wealth, and our people must work hand in hand to ensure these Resources are properly developed for thebenefit of our present and future generations.β Prime Minister Marape affirmed Papua New Guineaβssupport for SolomonIslandsβ leadership role in the Pacific, including its current responsibilities in Regional dialogue and cooperation. He saidPNG stood ready to work with Prime Minister Wale and the Solomon Islands Government to advance a united Pacificvoice on trade, commerce, climate change, environmental protection, security, geopolitics and the broader vision of theBlue Pacific Continent. βPapua New Guinea affirms its fullest support behind Solomon Islandsβ leadership,β PrimeMinister Marape said. βWe will work with Prime Minister Wale to ensure that the voice of Solomon Islands, and thecollective voice of the Pacific Islands family, is amplified in the right spaces.βThe Prime Minister said a major focus of the new Framework would be the expansion of two-way investment and businessactivity. He noted that Papua New Guinea companies already have substantial investments in Solomon Islands, including inpalm oil, banking, telecommunications and other commercial activities. βPapua New Guinea must appreciate Solomon Islandsas a country where we have our biggest foreign investment from PNG companies,β Prime Minister Marape said.
βSolomon Islands has been a wonderful host to PNG business, and we look forward to sending more investors there. Likewise, we inviteSolomon Islands investors and businesses to come and operate in Papua New Guinea.β Prime Minister Marape said bothGovernments would explore practical arrangements to expand trade and investment between Papua New Guinea andSolomon Islands, with the longer-term prospect of deeper Melanesian and Pacific trade cooperation involving countries suchas Vanuatu and Fiji. He said the objective wasto ensure that Pacific nations traded more with each other, added value to theirown resources and created more jobs, businesses and income opportunities within the Region.The leaders also discussed opportunities for Papua New Guineaβs mining companies and State-Owned Enterprises to workwith Solomon Islands in developing its Resource Sector in a responsible and mutually beneficial manner. Prime MinisterMarape said Papua New Guinea was prepared to share its experience in resource governance, project negotiations andincreasing national participation in major resource developments. He welcomed Solomon Islandsβ invitation for PNG investorsand institutions to consider opportunities in its Mining Sector, noting that Regional investment and partnership could helpensure that Melanesian countriesretain a strongerstake in the development oftheir own Resources.
βWe will export whatever capacity we have to them, and whatever they have, they will export to us, as we work side by side into the next leg of our countriesβ lives as independent states,β he said. Fisheries and Ocean Resources were also identified as major areas of future cooperation. Prime Minister Marape said PapuaNew Guinea and Solomon Islands were custodians of vast Marine Resources and must work together to ensure that theeconomic benefits from Tuna and other Fisheries Resources were retained more strongly in Pacific economies. He said bothcountries would continue discussions on downstream fish processing, value-adding, maritime surveillance, tackling illegalfishing and building greater Pacific ownership of fisheries industries. βOur greatest potential lies in fish and fish resources,βPrime Minister Marape said. βTogether with our brothers and sisters in the Pacific, we hold a major share of the worldβs Tunaresources. We must not remain poor while our ocean resources create wealth for others.
βSecurity and Policing Cooperation were also discussed, including the potential for Solomon Islands police personnel to accesstraining opportunities in Papua New Guinea through the Bomana Police College in NCD.
Prime Minister Marape said PNG wasprepared to work with Solomon Islands and other Partners to strengthen Regional Security arrangements, improve trainingand build joint capacity against illegal fishing, drug trafficking, transnational crime and other emerging threats. He said their development and strengthening of training facilities at Bomana Police College would create further opportunities for Regional policing cooperation.
βWe must build a security architecture that is fitting for our people and for our Region,β PrimeMinister Marape said.
βWe will work together to defend our waters, address illegal fishing, fight drug trafficking and confrontthe crimes that affect our homes and communities.β
Prime Minister Wale thanked Prime Minister Marape, the Government and people of Papua New Guinea for the warmreception extended to him and his delegation.
He acknowledged Papua New Guineaβs leadership role in Melanesia and thePacific as a ‘big brother’, and welcomed stronger collaboration between the two countries on security, regional unity,resourcegovernance, investment and the work of the Melanesian Spearhead Group.
Prime Minister Marape said he looked forward to reciprocating Prime Minister Waleβs visit with a Bilateral Visit to Honiara at the earliest opportunity, where both Governments would further develop practical programmes under the new 2026β2030 Framework Agreement.
He said the PNG Governmentwould also progress a Cabinet submission to clearly identify priority areas, institutional responsibilities and implementationarrangementsfor the strengthened PNGβSolomon Islands partnership. β
Prime Minister Wale has warmed my heart by comingacross to meet us,β Prime Minister Marape said.
βOur two nations are walking together, journeying together and moving sideby side into the future.
βMay God bless Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands as we build a stronger, more secure and moreprosperous Melanesia and Pacific family.β
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