PM SOGAVARE LEFT FOR PORT VILA ON TREATY SIGNING

Prime Minister Hon. Manasseh Sogavare will leave for Port Vila tomorrow in his capacity as Chair of the Melanesian Spearhead Group to visit the MSG Secretariat and to sign a historic Maritime Treaty with the Vanuatu Government.

A Government statement said Prime Minister Sogavare will sign the historic maritime treaty on Vanuatu’s northern-most Torba Province Friday next week with Vanuatu’s Prime Minister Charlot Salwai.

The Maritime Treaty will pave the way for trade, travel and cultural exchanges between the people of Temotu Province and Vanuatu’s Torba Province, and will open bilateral cooperation between the two countries and facilitate joint border trade and enlarge economic opportunities.

The statement said the signing ceremony will occur at Mota Lava Island of the Toress Island Group, an island with the population of about 1,500 people.

The signing will be officiated by the President of the Republic of Vanuatu and witnessed by Ministers of the Council of Minister.

It will be a traditional event blended with full Government protocols.

Meanwhile, the statement adds the Vanuatu Government will meet all travelling expenses and accommodation for the Prime Minister, his close aides and Government Ministers from Port Vila to Torba’s Mota Lava Island.

This will become the first significant Maritime Treaty that the Vanuatu Government will sign and it has committed considerable finance and resources for the event.

The two-day event will be attended by Vanuatu President Baldwin Lonsdale and Ministers of the Council of Ministers, to witness the Maritime Treaty signing between Prime Minister Hon. Manasseh Sogavare and the Prime Minister of Vanuatu, Hon. Charlot Salwai.

The statement said chiefs from Torba and Temotu Province will also witness the signing ceremony.

The Prime Minister and his delegation return Sunday next week.