Solomon Islands PM to meet Anthony Albanese for 'pivotal' high-level talks in Canberra

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale is set to meet his Australian counterpart Anthony Albanese on Wednesday for "high-level talks" in Canberra.

Wale has picked Australia for his first official visit, which will be followed by a New Zealand leg where he is set to meet with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon.

Australia is the Solomon Islands largest development partner and provider of official development assistance.

Wale was elected prime minister last month following a no-confidence vote in his predecessor, Jeremiah Manele. Canberra rolled out the red carpet for the Solomon Islands leader on Tuesday.

The Solomon Islands government said Wale will meet Albanese and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong for "pivotal, high-level talks".

The Solomon Islands Prime Minister's Office said in a post on Facebook that "big discussions on security, development, and regional stability start now", without divulging further information on the nature of the talks.

Wale will also meet Australia's opposition leader Angus Taylor during his stay in Canberra.

In an ope-ed for The Guardian, Dr Connor Graham, a research fellow in the Pacific Islands Program at Lowy Institute, argues that Canberra's engagement with Honiara must more than its geopolitical push-and-shove with China.

"Wale's choice of Canberra as his first official destination is being read as a signal - proof that Solomon Islands is tilting back toward Australia," Dr Graham wrote.

He described Wednesday's meeting as "an opportunity" for Australia to a build model of partnership similar to the one it has with Papua New Guinea. It should focus on "what Solomon Islands needs" and not "what Australia fears".

"An Australia that shows up ready to engage with that agenda - on education, health, economic diversification and climate resilience - rather than to leverage security cooperation against Chinese influence, is one that will earn the kind of relationship it is looking for."

Solomon Islands expert Tarcissus Kabutaulaka, an associate professor and former director of the Center for Pacific Islands Studies at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, noted in a Devpolicy Blog that Wale is "likely" to take a pragmatic approach to foreign policy, rather than an ideological one.

"He will probably continue strengthening relations with Australia, New Zealand, the United States and other partners - a task Manele had already begun," Kabutaulaka wrote.

"This differs from the erratic and turbulent foreign policy of the previous [Manasseh] Sogavare-led government. After all, Solomon Islands needs all its development partners. The challenge, however, lies in managing the geopolitical rivalries among them."

The Solomon Islands delegation includes Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade Rick Hou, Minister for National Planning and Development Coordination Peter Kenilorea Jnr, Minister for Police, National Security and Correctional Services, John Tuhaika Jnr, Minister for Infrastructure Development, Ricky Fuo'o, Minister for Education and Human Resource Development, Stephen Kumi, Minister for Finance and Treasury, Gordon Darcy Lilo.