SAUDI Arabia is keen to support Solomon Islands to develop its tourism industry, Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele announced.
PM Manele said during his trip to Riyadh, he met with the Minister of Tourism, Ahmed al-Khatib who showed support and gave assurance of his ministry’s readiness to work with Solomon Islands Government through the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) to transform the tourism industry.
He said the initial focus will be on working with MCT to conduct an assessment of the tourism sector – the key stakeholders and the strength and weaknesses and promote learning from other like countries in the region such as Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu, Samoa and Tonga to ensure the solutions are appropriate for Solomon Islands setting.
PM Manele said the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (OPMC) together with MCT will engage with the Saudi Ministry of Tourism to discuss the details of how the Saudi support will be given towards this capacity strengthening assistance.
He said the Saudi Minister of Tourism chairs the Saudi Fund for Development, which is one of the largest funds in the world providing development assistance to developing countries through the financing of social and infrastructure projects by way of concessional loans and grants.
PM Manele made the announcement at a press conference upon his arrival in Honiara last week from his back-on-back trip to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
By IAN LADDS OSO
Solomon Star, Honiara
