Prime Minister Manele highlights the Bina Habour Tuna Project during several discussions with top officials
The proposed Bina Harbour Tuna Processing Project in West Kwaio, Malaita Province continues to feature prominently in Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele’s recent international engagements in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Prime Minister Manele led a Solomon Islands delegation to attend the Pacific Agenda: Investment, Security, and Shared Prosperity Summit.
The senior-level, invitation-only forum was designed to advance viable investment opportunities across the Pacific region.
The East-West Center reported that the summit brought together leaders from Pacific Island countries, private sector representatives and senior officials from the United States Government.
The summit explored investment opportunities across key sectors including infrastructure, critical minerals and supply chains, the digital economy, artificial intelligence and telecommunications, energy security, tourism, agriculture and food security, health systems, and banking and financial services.
Speaking during a press conference in Honiara on Sunday, Prime Minister Manele said he met with Christopher Landau, the U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, where several commitments were secured.
“We discussed and secured several commitments.
“First, on economic investment, we are finalising an investment incentive agreement with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation this year.
“I personally pitched the Bina Harbour tuna project to U.S. private investors as a transformative industrial hub,” he said.
Prime Minister Manele said Rexson Ramofafia, Minister of Finance and Treasury, and Trevor Manemahaga, Minister of National Planning and Development Coordination, also held discussions with the Millennium Challenge Corporation on the margins of the forum, where the Bina Harbour project was also raised.
“Our ministers also met with the Asian Development Bank and discussed economic investments and how we can better collaborate to ensure that national projects are identified and implemented in a timely manner,” he said.
Prime Minister Manele added that discussions were also held with the U.S. Deputy Secretary regarding the possible return of the Peace Corps to Solomon Islands.
“That initiative will come to Cabinet again. Once Cabinet endorses the return of the Peace Corps, we will proceed to make the final arrangements in terms of placements,” he said.
On trade, the Prime Minister said he formally requested U.S. support to establish a Pacific Islands Forum trade office in the United States, similar to those already operating in China and Japan, to help Pacific exporters access the American market.
On security cooperation, he said Solomon Islands also secured a commitment from the United States to increase assistance in the clearance of unexploded ordnance (UXO).
“My office also visited the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency to strengthen our cooperation in recovering and repatriating fallen U.S. service members from our shores,” he said.
Officials also met with the dean and faculty of the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies to re-engage Solomon Islands officials in executive-level security training.
Prime Minister Manele, who currently serves as Chair of the Pacific Islands Forum, delivered the keynote address at the summit.
“I called on our partners to move beyond dialogue to practical, finance-ready projects that respect the Pacific context,” he said.
Prime Minister Manele described the summit as a significant reset in bilateral relations between Solomon Islands and the United States.
However, he stressed that while international partnerships are important for long-term development, the benefits must also reach ordinary citizens.
“We engage with the world to better protect our people at home, especially as we navigate an increasingly dynamic global landscape,” he added.
