On the 3th October 2024, the Hon Prime Minister met with Dr. Fabien Menant, Senior Vice-President Public Affairs France; Mr. Mexind Utomo, International Governmental Affairs Director and Ms. Nathalie Donnard, Civil Affairs Director of AIRBUS.

During the meeting the Hon Prime Minister provided an update on the Air Vanuatu Status and queried on the possibility of further engaging with AIRBUS. Response from the AIRBUS delegation was very positive.

Later this year, AIRBUS will send its Representative based in the Solomon Islands to Port Vila to further engage with relevant authorities and officials to materialize the discussions.

The AIRBUS delegation has also offered to engage with ATR on behalf of the Government of Vanuatu on the possibility of acquiring an ATR Aircraft.

The Hon Prime Minister, Charlot Salwai, raised concerns when he met the Bred Bank International Director Mr Regis Barriac over the Bank's extensive bureaucracy, demanding rules and processes now causing reluctance by the Vanuatu population in opening Bank accounts and preventing grassroots, in particular farmers, from investing and acquiring loans from the Bank.

The Hon Prime Minister further shared with the Director Vanuatu's Blacklist issue and sought advice and assistance in getting the Government cleared. The Hon Prime Minister also seized the opportunity to query on the offer made by the Bank to fund Vanuatu's Diplomatic presence in Paris.

The Director in response confirmed BRED's commitment to engage with AFD and the Bank of France to assist the Reserve Bank and the Government in rescuing Vanuatu from the Blacklist Status. Bred has done the same in Djibouti and confirmed it's commitment to assist Vanuatu in this regard given Vanuatu is BRED's first international country of investment followed by Djibouti.

The BRED Director further confirmed that he will undertake a mission to Port Vila to further explore the issues raised by the Hon Prime Minister and have the bureaucracy issues resolved to ensure BRED Bank remains Vanuatu's first bank of choice.

BRED Bank's commitment is also in line with President Macron's vision to strengthen France's presence in the arc of the Pacific through the reopening of the AFD presence in the Pacific Island Countries.

The Prime Ministers of Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea recently met at Tokyo Japan and convened to discuss their shared interests and mutual concerns, focusing on the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) and the Pacific Islands Forum. Key topics included the air service agreement and the critical issue of tuna fisheries processing, which is vital for both nations.

Additionally, the PNG Prime Minister extended an invitation to his Vanuatu counterpart to collaborate on hotel development projects through PNG's superannuation funds, aiming to strengthen economic ties and enhance regional cooperation.

Image supply: Dept of PM & NEC Media

As of October 2024, the Prime Minister Hon. Charlot Salwai Tabimasmas celebrated 1 year in office, since been voted in on October 2023. The Prime Minister acknowledged his coalition partners and fellow ministers and MPs in entrusting him and his government thus reaching a year in office.

Prime Minister reflected on accomplishments such as successfully completing the national referendum and also challenges faced such as the ongoing political instability faced in the country. He noted efforts to boost political stability, upgrade infrastructure, and tackle climate change, a key issue for Vanuatu.

Additionally, he stressed the need for national unity and addressing social concerns like education and healthcare. The one-year anniversary also allowed him to outline future goals and reaffirm the government's dedication to sustainable development and resilience against external challenges.