BY JOSES SAREN
Japan will help fund Solomon Islands’ free education policy through a concessional loan already signed, and has pledged support for a new school through the Sasakawa Foundation, Prime Minister Matthew Wale said upon his arrival home yesterday afternoon from an official visit to Tokyo.
Wale described Japan as a reliable, long-standing partner, saying past disappointments in the relationship had been overcome and bilateral ties realigned to a “good, reliable partnership”.
He said the concessional loan that was signed will ensure that the free education policy rolls out in full from January.
“We have money to start free education on January, full complete roll out,” Wale said.
He said Japan, through the Sasakawa Foundation, part of the Nippon Foundation, had pledged to build a new school, with further details to be worked out when the Foundation’s chief executive visits Solomon Islands next month.
“We are thinking that’s a TAFE, a national level TAFE institution,” Wale said, adding that the goal was to support the country’s STEM and skills objectives within the education system.
During the Tokyo visit, Wale was accorded a Guard of Honour and held bilateral talks with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, and also met Nippon Foundation Honorary Chair Yohei Sasakawa and JICA President Akihiko Tanaka, with whom Solomon Islands separately signed a Development Policy Loan for fiscal stability and economic resilience.
Photo credit: Island Sun
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