Seville, Spain — Minister of National Planning and Development Coordination Hon. Rexson Ramofafia has engaged in High Level Meeting discussions at the margins of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4), Seville, Spain, this week.
Minister Ramofafia participated in the Multi-stakeholder high-level discussions on “International Development Cooperation (IDC)” and “Upholding the multilateral trading system, and harnessing the potential of science, technology and innovation”.
In his intervention on development cooperation, Hon. Ramofafia urges international development partners to commit to the long-standing target of allocating 0.7% of their Gross National Income (GNI) to Official Development Assistance (ODA), with at least 0.2% allocated to the least developed countries (LDCs).
Minister Ramofafia strongly emphasized the importance of aligning assistance with national priorities and local participation to enhance ownership and impactful results.
The MP for Fataleka, however, emphasized that the Solomon Islands’ structural vulnerability to shocks requires tailored and accessible financing solutions. These include:
• urgent need for affordable, concessional finance and a reformed international financial architecture that is inclusive, equitable, and responsive.
• Improved lending terms—more concessional, with longer tenors—to meet the specific needs and climate-resilient infrastructures.
• Scale up climate financing and implement the Loss and Damage Fund, prioritizing the needs of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
• And reiterated Solomon Islands’ call made in Nice to increase investment in ocean science, data, and innovative financing to support our resilient blue economies.
In his contribution to the second high-level discussions with developed partners on Trade, Science, Technology, and Innovation (TSTI), Hon. Ramofafia emphasizes that for Solomon Islands, access to digital infrastructure, knowledge, skills, and innovation funding remains limited, restricting our ability to benefit from these global advances.
While acknowledging some national progress in digital finance and mobile tower connectivity, Hon Ramofafia stated that much more needs to be done.
Hon. Ramofafia welcomed Sevilla’s outcome document (Compromiso de Sevilla) on multilateral cooperation to facilitate the equitable sharing of science, technology, and innovation and urged development partners and multilateral development banks to scale up financing for TSTI, particularly for digital infrastructure on concessional and preferential terms.
Minister Ramofafia elaborated that the transformative impacts of advanced TSTI in health, agriculture, fisheries, and education have yet to be realized, urging developed countries to bridge this gap.
In his concluding intervention, Hon. Ramofafia indicated that together, through shared commitment and meaningful partnerships, we can all unlock the full potential of TSTI to make sure no one is left behind in this digital age.
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