RAMSI Congratulates PNG On Their National Day

RAMSI Congratulates Papua New Guinea on Their National Day

Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands Special Coordinator, Tim George, today congratulated Papua New Guinea on the occasion of its Independence Day.

Mr George said the contribution made by Papua New Guinea to RAMSI's civilian, police and military programs illustrated one of the great strengths of RAMSI's regional partnership.

"On the occasion of their 32nd independence anniversary, the people of Papua New Guinea can be proud of the work their countrymen and women in Solomon Islands are doing to help their neighbour", Mr George said.

"The Melanesian culture Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands share makes our Papua New Guinean personnel excellent ambassadors for RAMSI in the community and with the government counterparts they are working with," Mr George said.

Mr George said the sacrifices made by people currently serving in RAMSI and away from their family deserve a special mention.

"I would also like to thank the government and people of Papua New Guinea for their continued support of RAMSI's goal to help Solomon Islands become a peaceful, well-governed and prosperous nation", Mr George said.

Papua New Guinea has provided military personnel and police advisors to the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands since July 2003 to help restore law and order.

The Commander of the Participating Police Force, Denis McDermott said that the depth of experience the PNG police officers brought to RAMSI was highly-valued in the mission.

"We have had some very experienced officers serving in the mission from PNG and I think that many of their fellow officers have also learnt a lot from them," Mr McDermott said.

There are currently ten PNG police officers serving with RAMSI as well as the head of the PNG military contingent, Captain Paul Pipingan.

Captain Pipingan said this week that although it was hard to be away from family and friends on days like this Sunday's Independence celebrations he still felt lucky to be a part of RAMSI.

"It is a great opportunity to work in Solomon Islands together with three other defense forces: Australia, New Zealand and Tonga.

More recently, experienced civilian advisors from PNG have been working with the Solomon Islands Government to develop the capacity of the public service in areas such as Ministry of Finance and law and justice.

Ms Elizabeth Goodman is a PNG advisor working in the Ministry of Finance who decided to come to the Solomon Islands to work with her Melanesian brothers and sisters.

"I want to share the development experience of PNG. I come from a village background and I know what it is like to start at the beginning."

Ms Goodman is working with Treasury officials in the important area of government purchasing and payments which is where a lot of corruption has occurred in the past.

There are plans for all Papua New Guineans working with RAMSI to come together to celebrate their national day, Ms Goodman said. They will also be sharing the experience of playing a unique role in helping a close neighbour.

ENDS

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