Bilateral Ties Strengthened Further at Honiara Summit

During the 2025 Honiara Summit, the Prime Minister of Solomon Islands, the Honorable Jeremiah Manele, held a successful bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, the Honorable James Marape. This meeting provided an important opportunity to further strengthen the long-standing friendly relations between the two countries, and both sides engaged in in-depth exchanges on issues of common concern.

Prime Minister Manele took the opportunity to express his deepest condolences to Prime Minister Marape and the people of Papua New Guinea on the passing of former Prime Minister Sir Julius Chan. Prime Minister Manele highly praised Sir Julius Chan's outstanding contributions and expressed his respect for his contributions to the development of Papua New Guinea.

Prime Minister Manele reaffirmed the deep historical and cultural ties between Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea, emphasizing that these ties predate colonial boundaries, highlighting the close relationship between the two countries. Given the close and vibrant relationship between the two countries, Prime Minister Manele personally expressed to Prime Minister Marape his acceptance of Papua New Guinea's invitation to attend the 50th Anniversary of Papua New Guinea's Independence celebrations in Port Moresby on September 16.

Prime Minister Manele assured Prime Minister Marape that Solomon Islands fully respects the sovereignty of Papua New Guinea and reiterated the country's position of non-interference on the issue of the political future development of Bougainville. Prime Minister Manele also stated that Solomon Islands is grateful for Papua New Guinea's continued support over the years.

Prime Minister Marape thanked Prime Minister Manele for confirming his attendance at Papua New Guinea's 50th Independence Anniversary celebrations this September, stating that this is of great significance to the people of Papua New Guinea. Prime Minister Marape commended the more than 50 Papua New Guinean companies that have invested in Solomon Islands, covering key sectors such as hotels, banking, telecommunications and agriculture. He announced that he would provide 5 million Kina in assistance to support Solomon Islands in hosting this year's Pacific Islands Forum. Papua New Guinea will also have state-of-the-art cancer, heart and kidney treatment facilities, encouraging referral patients from Solomon Islands to use these facilities, where they will only pay the same prices as Papua New Guinean citizens. In addition, Papua New Guinea will consider providing budget support to Solomon Islands from 2026 to 2030, as it has done previously.

Prime Minister Manele thanked Prime Minister Marape for his support and will arrange for senior officials from both sides to follow up on these issues. They also agreed that cooperation talks between the two countries should be normalized, with senior officials meeting annually and leaders meeting every two years.