External Trade

On 22 February 2017, the European Commission lifted the yellow card it handed down to Solomon Islands in late 2014, recognising the significant efforts that have been made towards fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing by the government and industry.

This comes as a great relief for exporters of tuna to the European Union, and shows that Solomon Islands is committed to bringing into line our fisheries’ legal and administrative frameworks with international law, in order to tackle illegal fishing effectively.

As we all know, the fisheries industry is of significant importance to the Solomon Islands, providing employment and growth opportunities in the economy.

The EU, at over 500 million consumers, is a substantial source of demand for our products so maintaining our ability to export tuna to this market is essential.

For more information visit the EU website at  https://ec.europa.eu/.

The Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Chair, Prime Minister Hon Manasseh Sogavare has welcomed Fiji’s signing of the new Melanesian Free Trade Agreement (MFTA) in Suva, Fiji, today.

Solomon Islands has presented its 3rd Trade Policy review report to the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Geneva on the 13th of December.

The Labor Mobility Unit (LMU) within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Tradeis stressing tothe general publicthe importance of verifying the legitimacy of Agents whorecruit for the New Zealand Recognized Seasonal Employer scheme (RSE) and the Australian Seasonal Worker Programme (SWP).

Prime Minister Hon Manasseh Sogavare has lauded the Mota Lava Treaty as providing a ‘good’ opportunity for Solomon Islands and Vanuatu to address the relationship of their two maritime border provinces- Temotu Province in Solomon Islands and Torba Province of Vanuatu.

Solomon Islands and the Republic of Vanuatu have signed a Maritime Border Treaty on Friday 7th October ending 33 years of negotiations over the common border of the two nations south of the Solomon Islands and north of Vanuatu.

Vanuatu President His Excellency Baldwin Lonsdale has awarded the late Senda Fifi’i, a Solomon Islands’ former career Foreign Affairs official, the Vanuatu Presidential Medal of Honour for his service in the Maritime Boundary issue between the Republic of Vanuatu and Solomon Islands while serving in the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Prime Minister Hon Manasseh Sogavare will leave for Port Vila tomorrow Tuesday 4th October to sign a historic Maritime Boundary Treaty with his Ni-Vanuatu counterpart, Prime Minister Charlot Salwai.

Prime Minister Hon Manasseh Sogavare today, Wednesday 22nd September, deposited Solomon Islands Instrument of Ratification of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change with the United Nations Secretary General, Mr Ban Ki-moon in New York, where he is attending the 71st United Nations General Assembly.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Conservation, Climate Change and Meteorology, Dr Melchior Mataki today signed an agreement aimed at ensuring the effective operation of the Global Climate Fund (GCF) in Solomon Islands.