A team of officials from the UK Office of the Prime Minister has met national security officials of the Ministry of Police, National Security and Correctional Services in Honiara, the British High Commission said on 9 November.
The high commission said the team came to give advice on how the Solomon Islands government's National Security Strategy could best be implemented, drawing on the UK's own experience.
The strategy was launched in March 2025 under the previous government, but the institutional arrangements for implementing it are still to be developed, the high commission said.
Minister of Police, National Security and Correctional Services John Tuhaika said a major challenge was making sure the government had the right arrangements in place to deal with the increased threat from transnational organised crime, especially drugs.
Tuhaika said lessons needed to be learnt from the problems Fiji is now facing. He welcomed the UK's ideas on how best to implement the strategy.
The head of the UK team, George Bowman, said the most important issue was ensuring the different ministries and agencies of government were talking to each other and coordinating their approaches when faced with a crisis.
"It is a question of getting the wiring of the state right now to deal with crises and threats in the future," Bowman said.
British High Commissioner to Solomon Islands Paul Turner was with the visiting team. Turner said the government deserved credit for making implementation of the strategy a priority.
He said the arrangements put in place to respond to border insecurity or transnational crime would be the same as those for dealing with natural disasters, and that it was about having a coordinated approach across government.
Turner said the UK would continue to work with Australian and New Zealand partners to help the Solomon Islands government strengthen its capacity in national security.
The high commission said the minister and senior colleagues will now consider the recommendations the UK team has provided.