BY ALICE CAMPBELL
British High Commissioner to Solomon Islands, HE Paul Turner, met the UN Resident Coordinator, Dirk Wagener, this week discussed issues relating to Solomon Islands and the wider region.
In the meeting, Turner reaffirmed the UK’s firm commitment to the UN and multilateral system, saying current global crises underlined the pressing need for more concerted international effort working with a strong UN.
In terms of recent political events in Honiara, Turner said that whatever political changes occurred, the UK would continue to prioritise the strengthening of the Solomon Islands Parliament as this was the bedrock of any democratic society.
The High Commissioner and the UN Resident Coordinator agreed that their joint programmes in strengthening the institutions overseeing elections in Solomons was also crucial.
The UK recently provided US $200,000 to UNDP to support a range of activities in preparation for the next General Election.
This included working with several civil society organisations to assess electoral outreach programmes to remote communities across the provinces.
The UK and UNDP are also working together on supporting the Solomon Islands Government rejoin the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), which will help bring greater transparency and oversight of the mining sector.
Photo: Supplied
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