TOP officials from the University of the South Pacific (USP) on Wednesday paid a courtesy visit to Prime Manasseh Sogavare.
The USP delegation included the Vice- Chancellor Professor Pal Ahluwalia and Pro- Chancellor Winston Thompson and the USP Solomon Islands Campus director.
Its the first time for Vice- Chancellor Professor Pal Ahluwalia to meet Mr Sogavare after his appointment.
During the meeting, the university officials reassures Prime Minister Sogavare of USP’s commitment to continue with the development of the Solomon Islands Campus.
Pro- Chancellor Thompson stated that the university considers the development of the Solomon Islands Campus as high priority and that they will push to ensure the construction starts as early as possible.
He stated that several issues have caused the delay of the development since the ground-breaking in 2017.
According to Pro- Chancellor Thompson, tender processes will soon begin and signing of contracts is expected to happen by January 2020.
Prime Minister Sogavare in response, expressed his consideration of the different processes and procedures that are in placed and further stated his anticipation for the constructions to start.
Mr Sogavare also mentioned his desire for the USP to have close cooperation with the Solomon Islands National University (SINU) and to explore ways that both universities can support each other.
He further acknowledged the contribution of USP in educating and shaping the human resources of the Solomon Islands country and region.
The university officials are in the country for the USP’s Solomon Islands Campus’ graduation ceremony this week.
– PM Press Secretariat
