Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung holds talks with Solomon Islands Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Shanel Agovaka

At the invitation of Party Central Committee Secretary and Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung, Solomon Islands Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Peter Shanel Agovaka paid an official visit to Vietnam from November 11-13.

Party Central Committee Secretary and Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung welcomed Solomon Islands Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Shanel Agovaka on an official visit to Vietnam. (Photo: Jackie Chan)

This is the first visit of a Solomon Islands Foreign Minister to Vietnam, and the highest-level visit between the two countries in nearly 30 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations (October 30, 1996), marking a new development step in bilateral relations. On the afternoon of November 11, in Hanoi , Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung held talks with Minister Peter Shanel Agovaka.

At the talks, the two Ministers expressed their pleasure at the continued maintenance and positive development of the friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Solomon Islands over the past three decades since the establishment of diplomatic relations (1996), especially the close coordination and mutual support at multilateral forums, especially within the framework of the United Nations.

Party Central Committee Secretary, Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung, Solomon Islands Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Peter Shanel Agovaka take a souvenir photo before the talks. (Photo: Jackie Chan)

Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung affirmed that Vietnam attaches importance to its relations with South Pacific countries, including the Solomon Islands - a country with an important geostrategic position and rich marine resources; highly appreciates Solomon's open foreign policy of "making friends with all countries"; thanks Solomon for supporting Vietnam's candidacy for the United Nations Human Rights Council for the 2026-2028 term and sending a delegation to attend the signing ceremony of the United Nations Convention on Cybercrime (Hanoi Convention).

Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung suggested that the two sides strengthen cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, agriculture, fisheries, construction materials and human resource development. The Minister shared that the Vietnamese Government is very interested in sustainable fisheries development and wishes to increase cooperation with Solomon in this field, and suggested that the Solomon Government facilitate licensing for Vietnamese enterprises to fish in Solomon's waters. In return, Vietnam is also willing to send experts to support Solomon in the fields of agriculture and fisheries, and encourage enterprises to invest in Solomon and build seafood processing factories for export, contributing to creating sustainable supply chains and value chains.

Party Central Committee Secretary and Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung speaks at the talks. (Photo: Thanh Long)

For his part, Minister Peter Shanel Agovaka expressed his admiration for Vietnam's remarkable economic and social development, highlighting the increasingly important role of Vietnam in the Asia-Pacific region. The Minister said that Solomon is actively expanding relations with partners, serving the country's sustainable development, and wishes to learn from Vietnam's experience.

Minister Peter Shanel Agovaka shared that Solomon wishes to strengthen trade cooperation and import Vietnam's strong products such as rice and construction materials; welcomed Vietnamese enterprises that have initially operated successfully in Solomon, making positive contributions to the development of the island nation; expressed the hope that Vietnamese enterprises will continue to invest in Solomon, especially in the fields of infrastructure construction, mineral exploitation, renewable energy production, electric batteries, etc.

The two Ministers agreed to further promote substantive cooperation in potential areas such as agriculture, fisheries, construction, tourism, mineral exploitation, etc.; highly appreciated the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding on the Cooperation Framework between the two Governments, creating an important foundation to orient cooperation in the coming period; at the same time, continue to promote the early signing of the Visa Exemption Agreement for diplomatic and official passport holders, as well as other agreements such as the Investment Protection and Promotion Agreement, and the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement.

Minister Peter Shanel Agovaka speaks at the meeting. (Photo: Jackie Chan)

Discussing the world and regional situation, the two Ministers shared that the international situation is becoming increasingly complicated; multilateralism and multilateral institutions are facing many challenges; the implementation of many global agendas, including important issues for Solomon Islands and Vietnam such as sustainable development, response to climate change, etc., still lacks many resources. In that context, the two sides share interests in promoting multilateralism, international law, and at the same time promoting the role of the United Nations and regional organizations such as ASEAN and the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF).

Panorama of the Talks. (Photo: Jackie Chan)

Solomon's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade highly appreciated Vietnam's active and important role in ASEAN and the region; welcomed ASEAN's expansion of cooperation with South Pacific countries and wished to become an observer of ASEAN.

The two Ministers also reaffirmed the importance of maintaining peace, stability, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation, and respecting international law, including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Party Central Committee Secretary, Foreign Minister Le Hoai Trung, Solomon Islands Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Peter Shanel Agovaka exchanged a memorandum of understanding on the Cooperation Framework between the two governments. (Photo: Thanh Long)

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/bo-truong-ngoai-giao-le-hoai-trung-hoi-dam-voi-bo-truong-ngoai-giao-va-ngoai-thuong-quan-dao-solomon-peter-shanel-agovaka-334054.html