HONIARA (Pacnews) — New Zealand Foreign Affairs Minister Phil Goff and his Australian counterpart, Alexander Downer have praised the work of the Solomon Islands International Peace Monitoring Team, which recently completed its 20-month deployment.
The IPMT consisted of police officers from Tonga, the Cook Islands, Vanuatu, New Zealand and Australia deployed to the island in Oct. 2000 under the terms of the Townsville Peace Agreement.
“We congratulate all the men and women who served with the IMPT for a job well done in successfully supporting home-grown efforts to end ethnic conflict in the Solomon Islands especially through the collection and custody of illegally held weapons,” the ministers said.
The two ministers said their countries would continue to provide support for Solomon Islands to improve the law and order situation in the country.
“The end of the IPMT deployment did not in any way reflect a lessening of New Zealand and Australia’s firm commitment to support Solomon Islands’ efforts to address its own problems,” the ministers said.
