
PM Salwai and his delegation with India’s High Commissioner to Vanuatu, Vishvas Sapkal. (Photo: Hilaire Bule)
Prime Minister Charlot Salwai and his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi will hold bilateral talks tonight, Saturday 10th March at 8 o’clock, local time in India’s capital of New Delhi.
During their talk, the two prime ministers will explore their current relationship, exchange agreements and possibilities of new agreements.
The Government of India has been donating a grant of over Vt20 million annually since the establishment of their bilateral relationship, Government Public Relations Officer Hilaire Bule, who is part of the PM’s delegation conveyed in a statement disseminated to the media yesterday afternoon.
PM Salwai arrived in New Delhi on Thursday at midnight local time to attend the first ever international meeting of International Solar Alliance.
Mr Salwai is accompanied by his acting Director General (DG), Gregoire Niptik, Parliamentary Secretary Tom Kor and the DG of Climate Change, Jesse Benjamin.
They were received at their arrival India’s High Commissioner to Vanuatu, Vishvas Sapkal who is based in Suva, Fiji.
PM Salwai had a meeting with Mr Sapkal and members of business community in New Delhi at Le Meridien Hotel yesterday morning.
Mr Salwai and his delegation will join the other leaders of ISA at the conference on Sunday.
ISA is an alliance of more than 121 countries, most of them being sunshine countries, which lie either completely or partly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The primary objective of the alliance is to work for efficient exploitation of solar energy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
The alliance is a treaty-based inter- governmental organization. Countries that do not fall within the Tropics can join the ISA and enjoy all benefits as other members, with the exception of voting rights.
The framework agreement of the International Solar Alliance opened for signatures in Marrakech, Morocco in November 2016, and Vanuatu among the first 121 countries did signed and joined the ISA.
The Alliance, which is headquartered in Gurugram, India, aims to deploy over 1,000 Gigawatt of solar energy and mobilise more than USD 1,000 billion into solar power by 2030, facilitating and accelerating the large-scale deployment of solar energy in developing countries in order to meet soaring energy demand and help fight climate change.
The framework agreement has been ratified by 19 countries including India, France, Australia, Bangladesh, Comoros, Fiji, France, Ghana, Guinea, Mauritius, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan and Tuvalu.
Vanuatu is geographically located among sun-rich countries lying fully along the Tropic of Capricorn and Tropic of Cancer which are relevant in seeking to ramp up the use of solar energy, thereby helping to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions while providing clean and cheap energy.
The ISA will allow Vanuatu to have better access to funding and technical assistance for the deployment of solar energy in Vanuatu.
This will further enhance its national and international efforts and commitments to address climate change adaptation and mitigation.
As a party to the ISA, Vanuatu is required to pay annual dues to the ISA.
It is expected to ratify the agreement this year.
Ratification of the Framework of Agreement on the ISA will allow Vanuatu to benefit from technical and financial resources that will be established or mobilized through the ISA.
Article 26 of the Constitution requires that treaties negotiated by the Government shall be presented to Parliament for ratification when they:
a. Concern international organisations, peace or trade
b. Commit the expenditure of public funds
c. Affect the status of people
d. Require amendment of the laws of the Republic of Vanuatu; or
e. Provide for the transfer, exchange or annexing of territory