PRIME MINISTER SOGAVARE NEW M.S.G CHAIR FOR NEXT 2 YEARS

Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has been appointed the new Chair of the Melanesian Spearhead Group for the next two years.

Former Chair Victor Tutugoro from the Front de Libération Kanak et Socialiste FLNKS of New Caledonia handed over the Chairmanship to Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare this morning.

Receiving the chairmanship, Prime Minister Sogavare accepts the offer with honour and humility.

“Thank you very much sir. This is a great honour I guess, and privilege and I accept sir the Chair of the group with humility and as a great honour. This is a great group.”

Prime Minister Sogavare also urged MSG leaders to continue to uphold the spirit in which MSG was founded.

“The MSG group is founded on some serious principles and quite rightly said sir, we must continue to uphold the spirit with which the group was founded way back in 1983.”

The MSG Leaders Summit ends tomorrow.

Meanwhile, among decisions expected of the MSG Leaders Summit are the application by the United Liberation Movement of West Papua for full membership of the MSG and Indonesia’s interest to be upgraded from observer to associate member of the sub-regional group.

Leaders are expected to agree today on the summit’s communiqué before it is released tomorrow.