Senior officials of the Solomon Islands Government and RAMSI recently met to jointly review the progress being made towards RAMSI's transition.

Opening the second SIG-RAMSI Dovetail Dialogue on RAMSI's transition, the Deputy Prime Minister, Hon Manasseh Maelanga, acknowledged the achievements of the SIG-RAMSI Partnership Framework.

"I encourage everyone to recognise the importance of sharing a common vision and applying the lessons learnt from the RAMSI experience in order to better inform future development programs under the Solomon Islands - Australia Partnership for Development," Mr Maelanga said.

"It is important that we work together to ensure that the priorities of the Solomon Islands Government are reflected in program designs and that our strategies are sustainable, relevant and appropriate."

The meeting focused on the plans for the transfer of selected RAMSI development programs to the SIG-Australia Partnership for Development from 30 June 2013.

The transfer is designed to make sure that RAMSI's work in improving law and justice, economic governance and the public service will continue under a longer-term bilateral arrangement, with other development priorities to be supported by other bilateral and multilateral donors.

RAMSI Development Coordinator, Dr Jane Lake said that all designs for this transition are on track and will be ready for endorsement at the next Partnership for Development talks in May 2013.

An update will also be provided to the Pacific Islands Forum in 2013.

Solomon Islands Permanent Secretary for RAMSI, Mr Jeffrey Kauha, also acknowledged the progress that had been made so far towards ensuring a smooth Transition.

Solomon Islands Government and RAMSI officials have held a series of informal and formal discussions over the last six months to discuss government priorities and how current programs can be improved to ensure better outcomes for Solomon Islanders.

Participants at the Dialogue agreed to continue to work in the spirit of cooperation and agreed to a timeline for completion of program designs.

The Dialogue was closed by the Special Secretary to the Prime Minister, Dr Philip Tagini, who thanked all parties for their work and encouraged them to work closely together on future developmental goals


Source: Press Release, RAMSI Media Unit