Papua New Guinea’s Minister for Police, Hon. Sir John Pundari, is in Vanuatu on an official visit ahead of the signing of a Police Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two Melanesian nations this Friday.
During his visit, Sir John Pundari paid a courtesy call on Vanuatu’s Minister responsible for Police, Andrew Napuat, as both governments prepare to formalise a new partnership aimed at strengthening policing, law enforcement, capacity building and regional security.
Minister Napuat told VBTC News the agreement has already received approval from the National Security Council and the Council of Ministers, giving the Government the mandate to proceed with the signing.
“The MoU has been approved by the Council of Ministers following endorsement by the National Security Council. I have been mandated, as the Minister responsible for Police, to sign the agreement with my counterpart from Papua New Guinea. We are pursuing similar police cooperation arrangements with Fiji and Solomon Islands so we can better coordinate our efforts to tackle issues such as drug trafficking and other cross-border security challenges.”
The agreement is expected to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the Vanuatu Police Force and the Royal Papua New Guinea Constabulary, expanding collaboration in policing, border management, operational coordination and professional capacity building.
Minister Napuat said Vanuatu also looks forward to expanding police training opportunities through the partnership.
“We are looking forward to future recruitment programmes because Papua New Guinea has confirmed it is ready to provide police training. They have indicated they can train up to 1,000 recruits if needed. The training will include border security and joint operations. Papua New Guinea faces many of the same challenges as Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Fiji, so working together will strengthen law enforcement and border management across the region.”
The Papua New Guinea agreement follows Vanuatu’s broader efforts to strengthen security cooperation with its Melanesian neighbours. Similar police cooperation arrangements are also being pursued with Fiji and Solomon Islands as part of a coordinated regional response to transnational crime, illicit drug trafficking and other emerging border security challenges.
