Minister Seleso Meets Japan’s Ambassador To Solomon Islands

The Honourable Minister for the Ministry of Rural Development (MRD), Rollen Seleso recently received a courtesy visit from the Japanese Ambassador His Excellency MIWA Yoshiaki.

In the brief courtesy meeting, Hon. Minister Seleso acknowledged the profound and meaningful relationship between Solomon Islands and Japan dating back to 1978 when the country gained its political independence.

Hon. Minister Seleso said as a genuine friend, Japan has contributed significantly to the country’s socio-economic and rural development.

He also acknowledged the immeasurable assistance and support that Japan continues to deliver to the country.

He said Solomon Islands and Japan have been on a delightful journey together since the country gained political independence and has continued to benefit from Japan’s number of development programs.

Meanwhile, the Japanese Ambassador H.E. MIWA said empowerment of rural people is important and he further said, that proper infrastructure development remains critically important to attract development in the rural areas, especially for social and economic transformation.

H.E. MIWA also used the opportunity and inform Hon. Minister Seleso of the ongoing programmes that Japan continues to implement in the country in partnership with other government ministries and institutions in the areas of forestry, fisheries, agriculture, health, education, and infrastructure.

Hon. Minister Seleso also informed H.E. MIWA of the development challenges the country has faced and also informed him of his ministry’s (MRD) roles and functions and how it delivers government services to the rural people, especially through the Constituency Development Funds (CDF) programme towards improving rural people’s livelihood.

He also briefed H.E. MIWA on the new CDF Act 2023 and MRD’s priorities which include the establishment of Constituency Development Growth Centres (CDGCs) in the 50 constituencies to guarantee services are accessible to the rural people.

It was a fruitful meeting as both leaders also discussed potential areas for collaboration to further bolster both countries' bilateral cooperation programmes.

Note: The Ministry of Rural Development (MRD) is one of the 24 ministries within the Solomon Islands Government (SIG) machinery. MRD is established on the 28th September, 2007.

Its core mandates as contained under Legal Notice 164 in accordance with the Constitution of Solomon Islands is to oversee the effective planning and implementation of Government’s Rural Development Policies.

Our vision is to ensure all rural Solomon Islanders become meaningfully participated in development activities to improve their social and economic livelihood.

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