Australia’s Solomon Islands High Commissioner Rod Hilton confirmed that Australia will provide security support for the 2023 Pacific Games and 2024 National General Elections to be held in the Solomon Islands, according to a written statement from the Solomon Islands government.
As part of the security cooperation agreement between the Solomon Islands and Australia, Australia will send additional security personnel.
According to the statement, which stated that Australia extended the security support sent by the Solomon Islands International Assistance Force (SIAF) in 2021 until June 2024, the government is very satisfied with this development.
In the statement, it was emphasized that the partnership between the Solomon Islands and Australia, the “primary security partner”, is based on trust, respect and shared values.
The general election scheduled for the end of the year in the Solomon Islands was postponed to 2024 due to the Pacific Games being held from 19 November to 2 December.
Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands, Manasseh Sogavare, stated that holding elections on the dates of the Pacific Games would be costly and logistically challenging, and that no change was made other than the date of the election.