Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Honorable Peter Shanel Agovaka with the United Nations Resident Coordinator, Dirk Wagener.
THE United Nations Resident Coordinator, Dirk Wagener paid a courtesy visit to the Minster of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Honorable Peter Shanel Agovaka, on Monday 18th August 2025.
Mr. Wagener who is based in Suva, is the United Nation Resident Coordinator and coordinates the United Nations development operations in Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
Minister Agovaka thanked the UN Resident Coordinator for the support of the UN Organizations and also highlighted the programs supported by the 9 UN Agencies in the country.
Minister Agovaka commend all UN agencies ongoing programmes and projects in the country such as the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) for the success of M-SELEN and “MobileFund” which is a small and short-term loan ranging from SBD$50 to $2,000 that can be used for small investments.
Solomon Islands has also launched a nationwide human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination Big Catch-Up campaign to protect girls aged 9–14 years against cervical cancer, supported by World Health Organization and other partners.
The UN Development Programme (UNDP) Pacific Office, through its Anti-Corruption Project and with generous support from the Government of the United Kingdom, organized a week-long operational mentoring mission in Honiara aimed at strengthening the institutional and operational capacity of the Solomon Islands Independent Commission Against Corruption (SIICAC).
Minister Agovaka spoke on some of the challenges that people in Solomon Islands face in terms of lack of services in rural areas such as infrastructure development, health and so forth.
He calls upon the UN Resident Coordinator to strengthen the collaboration going forward noting the importance of decentralisation to create employment opportunities for rural people such as the Bina Harbour Project.
Mr. Wagener states that the next Joint Steering Committee meeting for the Country Implementation Plan will be held after the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in September 2025.
Minister Agovaka stressed the need for a UN presence office in Honiara and looks forward to work closely with Mr. Wagener to ensure Solomon Islands achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) and ensure that the smooth transition strategy to Least Developed Country (LDC) graduation is a success.
–MFAET PRESS RELEASE
