The Acting Prime Minister and the Minister responsible for the Ministry of Mines, Energy & Rural Electrification (MME&RE) Honourable Bradley Tovosia, MP, on Tuesday (8 October 2024) received a courtesy call from the visiting China’s National Machinery Industry Corporation (SINOMACH) officials.
During the brief courtesy visit, the General Manager of Blue Economic Cooperation – SINOMACH, Qiu Bing expressed his appreciation to the Acting PM for the opportunity to meet, acknowledging the prevailing trade relations between Solomon Islands and China.
The two-member team is currently in the country on a fact-finding mission with the aim to;
- Identify key areas of need in the Solomon Islands in terms of Solar electrification.
- Explore possible areas of support to the government of Solomon Islands in light industries and solar electrification.
- Familiarise with key government officials and provide supporting concepts for possible interventions in technology requirements.
- Provide background on SINOMACH work globally.
“We are so happy and privileged for this opportunity to dialogue with you concerning our fact-finding mission here in your country through the Ministry of Rural Development,” Bing told the Acting PM Hon. Tovosia.
While in the country, the team will meet with different Solomon Islands officials including key Ministers and government Ministries associated with provincial governments, Communities, and national development sectors in energy and electrification with various development interests in infrastructure and light industries.
This is the first of its kind for the company officials to visit the Pacific and to Solomon Islands in particular.
China National Machinery Industry Corporation (Sinomach), formerly known as the First Ministry of Machinery Industry, is a major State-owned enterprise directly managed by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Central Government.
Sinomach has built itself on around 70 research and design institutes, equipment manufacturing and industrial and trade enterprises it took over from its predecessor.
The Acting PM also briefed on the services offered by SINOMACH which cover such critical national economic fields as machinery, energy, transportation, automobiles, shipbuilding, metallurgy, construction, electronics, environmental engineering, aeronautics and astronautics, and light industry.
In response, the Acting PM Hon. Tovosia acknowledged Bing for meeting him and he said he was impressed by the information shared.
“I believe our country has come a long way in terms of development, and for sure, we will need our partners to help us change the development landscape in our country.
“We will continue to share information and see which areas we can work on with potential partners like SINOMACH to address some of our development needs, mostly in our rural places,” he said.
Acting PM Hon. Tovosia also acknowledged the Ministry of Rural Development (MRD) through its Deputy Secretary Technical (Acting) George Balairamo for taking the leading role in coordinating the courtesy visit.
SINOMACH is present in five continents, with more than 300 overseas service agencies in over 100 countries and regions.
Government Ministries that the visiting team will be consulting while in the country are; Ministry of Mines, Energy and Rural Electrification, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Provincial Government, Ministry of Infrastructure Development, Ministry of Lands, and MRD.
MRD is coordinating and facilitating the SINOMACH team’s visit here.
- MRD
