Photo Supply: Senior officials from government, law enforcement, academia, and international partners, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) pose for a photo during the officially open of the National Symposium on Strengthening the Solomon Islands Response to Transnational Organized Crime on Thursday at the King Solomon Hotel in Honiara.
Minister Tanangada Opens National Symposium on Transnational Organized Crime
Honiara – Honourable Jimson Tanangada, Minister of Police, National Security & Correctional Services (MPNSCS), officially opened the National Symposium on Strengthening the Solomon Islands Response to Transnational Organized Crime on Thursday at the King Solomon Hotel in Honiara.
The two-day event brings together senior officials from government, law enforcement, academia, and international partners, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), to address evolving threats in the Pacific region.
Minister Tanangada highlighted the rapid evolution of transnational organized crime, exploiting Solomon Islands’ extensive maritime borders, geographic isolation, and proximity to global illicit markets.
He noted a marked rise in drug-related incidents, seizures, illegal mining in the gold sector, money laundering, and illicit financial flows, which challenge law enforcement, public health, and economic institutions. These threats, embedded at the core of the National Security Strategy 2025-2028 (NSS-2025), demand strengthened border management, inter-agency coordination, legislative reforms, and a whole-of-society approach.
Launched last year under Prime Minister Manele, the NSS-2025 – themed “United for Security: A Collective Vision for a Resilient and Prosperous Solomon Islands” – identifies transnational crimes like drug trafficking, people smuggling, and corruption as top threats. The strategy supports the National Development Strategy 2016-2035 and calls for engagement with regional mechanisms such as the Pacific Islands Forum and the Boe Declaration. The symposium directly advances these priorities through frank deliberations and action-oriented outcomes.
The Minister urged Solomon Islands to accede to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), noting that only a few Pacific nations, including Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, and Tuvalu, have yet to join its 194 state parties. Accession would enable mutual legal assistance, extradition, joint investigations, and technical support, signaling the nation’s commitment to the rule of law. He called on participants to engage candidly and build a coordinated response aligned with national policy.
The Solomon Islands Government acknowledged the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) for organising and facilitating the workshop for the law enforcement agencies and welcomes further support to continue strengthening the capability and capacity of the enforcement agencies.
-MPNSCS Press