The visiting Speaker of the Vanuatu National Parliament, Hon. Seoule Simeon made a courtesy visit to the Acting Prime Minister Hon. Manasseh Maelanga at the Office of the Prime Minister this week.
In receiving the Speaker and his delegation, Hon. Maelanga expressed gratitude for the visit and conveyed his best wishes to Hon. Simeon during his engagements in Honiara.
The two leaders exchanged words of encouragements, especially, in strengthening partnerships between Pacific Parliaments to learn from each other and to share relevant information to enhance the work of Parliaments in the region.
“I am happy to receive you and your delegation this morning on behalf of our Prime Minister and I wish you every best during your official engagements in Honiara,” Acting PM Maelanga said.
The two leaders also acknowledged the commonalities between the two Melanesian countries in areas including culture, religion, inter-marriages and geographic location, which is a bond that makes the two countries similar.
The main purpose of the Speaker’s visit to Honiara is to sign a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on Inter-Parliamentary Partnership between both Parliaments – similar to what our National Parliament and the Congress of New Caledonia had signed December last year.
The signing took place yesterday, Wednesday 31st May 2023 between Deputy Speaker Hon. Commins Aston Mewa on behalf of the Speaker who is away on medical leave.
Part of the program of the visit included a courtesy call to the Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Manasseh Maelanga and internships program with various departments of the National Parliament Office namely the Sergeant At Arms, Human Resource Office and Administration, Procedures Office, Office of the Clerk, Civic Education and Committee Secretariat.
This new partnership with the Vanuatu Parliament will have the similar objectives like other Parliament partners and that is to encourage exchanges of Parliamentary delegations to promote closer interaction in the interest of further development of inter-parliamentary cooperation and as a means of fostering links between Parliamentarians and Parliamentary staff.
The partnership will also contribute to the emergence of a Melanesian inter-parliamentary network.
Hon. Seoule Simeon is accompanied by Gaetan Ruru, Interparliamentary Relations Officer, Office of Clerk, Vanessa Molisa, Advisor to the Office of Speaker and Estella Banga, Human Resources Officer and Assistant Clerk-Corporate Services
Source: Press Release, National Parliament of Solomon Islands