DUSHANBE, February 24, 2012 Asia-Plus – Tajikistan has established diplomatic relations with Solomon Islands.
According to the Tajik MFA information department, a joint communiqué on the establishment diplomatic relations between Tajikistan and Solomon Islands was signed in New York on February 21.
Ambassador Sirojiddin Aslov, Permanent Representative of Tajikistan to the United Nations, signed the document on behalf of the Government of Tajikistan.
After the communiqué-signing ceremonies, Ambassador Aslov and his counterparts from Solomon Islands Collin Beck discussed issues related to establishment and expansion of bilateral mutually cooperation between the two countries.
Solomon Islands is a sovereign state in Oceania, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. It covers a land mass of 28,400 square kilometers. The capital, Honiara, is located on the island of Guadalcanal. The nation of the Solomon Islands is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations.
Its per capita GDP of $600 ranks Solomon Islands as a lesser developed nation, and more than 75% of its labor force is engaged in subsistence and fishing. Most manufactured goods and petroleum products must be imported. Until 1998, when world prices for tropical timber fell steeply, timber was Solomon Islands” main export product, and, in recent years, Solomon Islands forests were dangerously overexploited. Other important cash crops and exports include copra and palm oil. In 1998 Ross Mining of Australia began producing gold at Gold Ridge on Guadalcanal. Minerals exploration in other areas continued. However in the wake of the ethnic violence in June 2000, exports of palm oil and gold ceased while exports of timber fell. The islands are rich in undeveloped mineral resources such as lead, zinc, nickel, and gold.
