PM Sogavare Welcome H.E Pedro Rodrigues Da Silva

Prime Minister Hon. Manasseh Sogavare today welcomed the Portuguese Ambassador, His Excellency Pedro Rodrigues Da Silva, to the country.

HE Da Silva is in the country for an official introduction after previously being unable to pay a courtesy call to the prime minister due to the global pandemic.
Prime Minister Sogavare assures the Ambassador of the continued support and confidence of the national government during his tenure as Non-Resident Ambassador to the Solomon Islands.

“Welcome and congratulations on your new appointment as Ambassador to the Solomon Islands, based in Canberra, Australia.

The Solomon Islands and Portugal established diplomatic relations on November 20, 1996, with their embassy in Canberra being accredited to the Solomon Islands.

Both heads of state agree that despite their geographical distance, relations between the two countries have always been cordial and focused on common priority areas such as sustainable development, renewable energy, tackling climate change and ocean issues, and education and others.

Prime Minister Sogavare also recognizes and thanks Portugal’s influential role on the international stage in using multilateral mechanisms to address pressing global challenges such as climate change and ocean sustainability; Issues of utmost importance to SI and the Pacific region.

“The bilateral meeting between my Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Hon. Jeremiah Manele and his counterpart, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Portugal, Hon. Joao Gomes Cravinho was very productive. It was a fruitful discussion on common areas of development and economic cooperation that our two countries can explore and further expand,” said the Prime Minister.

Solomon Islands and Portugal have had minimal involvement over the years, although Portugal has supported our productive and social sectors.

As Portugal is known in several sports, especially football, the Solomon Islands want to deepen peoples diplomacy through sporting avenues. Our countries can avail technical support and expertise through football sport faculty from Portugal, this would improve and sharpen our teams for gold medal winning chances.

On the multilateral platform, Portugal’s aid is channeled through the multilateral mechanism, more precisely through the apparatus of the European Union.
Portugal is located in southwestern Europe. It has a unitary semi-republican system of government with President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa as head of state and Prime Minister Antonio Costa as head of government.

Source: AVV