I will make a brief visit to the Solomon Islands on 22 December 2003.
The main purpose of the visit is to convey the thanks and Christmas greetings of the Australian people to all those members of the Australian Defence Force, Australian Federal Police, Australian Protective Service and Australian civilian advisers who have been making such a valuable contribution to the future of the Solomon Islands.
I will review the continuing progress being made by the Australian-led Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) and be briefed by the Solomon Islands Government and RAMSI Special Coordinator, Mr Nick Warner.
During the visit I will also meet Prime Minister Kemakeza and senior ministers of the Solomon Islands government. These discussions will focus on consolidating and extending the impressive gains which have been made by Operation Helpem Fren.