The process of validating the draft implementation plans for the National Security Strategy (NSS) and the National Border Strategy (NBS) is underway in Honiara
The two-day process will gather key officials from corresponding ministries whose roles contribute towards implementing the two security policies which were launched by Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare towards the end of 2020.
The objective of the workshop is to get relevant stakeholders to validate the draft implementation plans of the two policies.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Police, National Security and Correctional Services (MPNSCS), Ms. Karen Galokale, said the implementation plans are important for coordinating, monitoring, and evaluating the whole of government’s approach towards addressing various security issues facing the country.
Inputs and recommendations from participating officials will be important to ensure the two policies are effective, inclusive, responsive, and relevant as a commitment to protecting the country’s national security.
The current National Security Strategy is the first-ever collated homegrown security policy to be developed for the Solomon Islands by its own experts.
“The validation process is important to ensure we take forward a document that we can trust that our implementation plans are homegrown and have captured all that should be included to make it responsive to our security needs,” Ms. Galokale said.
The development of a National Security Policy for Solomon Islands has been part of the National Government’s agenda for a number of years since the post-conflict period.
This agenda has been maintained by the ruling Democratic Coalition Government for Advancement (DCGA) under its recent Redirection Policy to further develop and implement the two security policies.
The provision of security, law, and order has been the major duty of the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force since it was first formed. However, the changing dynamics of social and economic developments have made security concerns require collaborative approaches between the Government the private sector, and the wider society to consider and address.
The workshop concludes on Wednesday 24 March.
Sources. GCU and Solomon Star newspaper.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
