The Solomon Islands Prime Minister, Manasseh Sogavare, is to skip next week's Forum summit in favour of a meeting in Taipeh with the Taiwanese President, Chen Shui Bian.
Solomon Islands will be represented in Tonga by the Foreign Minister, Patteson Oti and the Development Planning Minister, Steve Abana.
Don Wiseman reports
"Mr Sogavare says that he will have two days of exclusive talks with Mr Chen following the Taiwan and the Pacific Summit in the Marshall Islands. Taiwan is one of Solomon Islands biggest aid donors and Mr Sogavare has always stressed the importance of the relationship. At last year's Forum Mr Sogavare had dominated proceedings withi his complaints about the Regional Assistance Mission, RAMSI. He wanted a five point plan to govern the mission's continued operation, including a clear demarcation between RAMSI and Canberra. The other leaders instead agreed to review which has been completed and while not public is known to include elements aimed at making the mission more regional in character. Last week the Australian Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, accused the Solomons' Government of trying to destroy RAMSI through its ongoing criticism of the mission's activities."
