Awareness on the Trade Agreements that Solomon Islands is a party to, was carried out in Buala Isabel Province, 6th-7th September 2022.
Officials from the Department of External Trade carried out a two days awareness on Trade agreements; namely the Melanesian Spearhead Group Trade Agreement (MSGTA), Pacific Island Countries Trade Agreement (PICTA), Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER Plus), the European Union-Pacific Economic Partnership Agreement (EU-Pacific iEPA), the United Kingdom -Pacific Economic Partnership Agreement (UK-Pacific iEPA). There was also talks on Peoples Republic of China (PRC) SPS protocol which is currently work in progress as well as talks on the Labor Mobility schemes that Solomon Islands has with outside countries.
Participants were informed with the background of each agreement, what the legal texts entails and the benefits that they bring to Solomon Islands as a whole.
The sessions held over the course of two days was very interactive, with a lot of questions asked by the participants.
The awareness of trade agreements in the provinces had started in 2019, with awareness in 6 of the 9 provinces already carried out. Unfortunately, due to restrictions put in place because of the Covid 19 pandemic, completion of awareness in the last 3 provinces could not be accomplished until this year.
The program was opened with welcome remarks from the provincial planning specialist who is also the incoming Provincial Secretary Mr. Norman Hiropuhi.
Before commencing with the program on day one, the Trade officials paid a courtesy visit to the Honorable Premier of Isabel Province Ms. Rhoda Sikilabu. Also, in attendance was Honorable Minister for Education Mr. Hugo Manegegu and Mr. Norman Hiropuhi
In her closing remarks, Deputy Director of External Trade Ms. Jenny Barile thanked the participants for attending and participating actively in the program and hope that they have taken some valuable information from the 2 days program.
-MFAET Press