Embassy/Consulate Addresses | Foreign Relations | Travel Advisories | Travel Tips | Customs/Duties



EMBASSY/CONSULATE ADDRESSES

Diplomatic Representation in the US:
Ambassador to the U.S. and UN--Colin Beck
Embassy: 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400L, New York, NY 10017
Telephone: [1] (212) 599-6192, 6193
Fax: [1] (212) 661-8925

US Diplomatic Representation:
The US does not have an embassy in Solomon Islands (embassy closed July 1993); the ambassador to Papua New Guinea is accredited to the Solomon Islands


FOREIGN RELATIONS

U.S.-SOLOMON ISLANDS RELATIONS

During World War II, U.S. and Japanese forces fought each other in Solomon Islands, then a British protectorate. By the end of 1943, the Allies were in command of the entire Solomon chain. The large-scale U.S. presence toward the end of the war dwarfed anything seen before in the islands. In recognition of the close ties forged between the United States and the people of Solomon Islands during World War II, the U.S. Congress financed the construction of the Solomon Islands Parliament building.

The two countries established diplomatic relations following Solomon Islands' independence in 1978 from the United Kingdom. The U.S. Ambassador to Papua New Guinea is also accredited to Solomon Islands. U.S. diplomatic representation is handled by the U.S. Embassy in Papua New Guinea. The United States maintains a Consular Agency in Honiara, Solomon Islands to provide consular services. The United States and Solomon Islands are committed to working together and improving regional stability, promoting democracy and human rights, responding to climate change, increasing trade, and promoting sustainable economic development.

U.S. Assistance to Solomon Islands

The U.S. Coast Guard provides training to Solomon Islands border protection officers, and the U.S. military also provides appropriate military education and training courses to national security officials. The USG also implements a program on unexploded ordinance on Guadalcanal. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contributes to the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) focused on preserving coral reefs, fisheries, and food security. Solomon Islands is one of six CTI countries. With the opening of the USAID Pacific Islands Regional Office in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea in October 2011, USAID is now providing development assistance related to climate change in the Solomon Islands. A new five-year, $5 million project will collaborate with GIZ in a ridge-to-reef approach to environmental management on Choiseul Island. In addition, Solomon Islands will be one of the focus countries for the upcoming $25 million Climate Change Adaptation Program for the Pacific, which will assist communities in adapting infrastructure, health systems, agricultural practices, and economic livelihoods to the realities of climate change.

Bilateral Economic Relations

Under the multilateral U.S.-Pacific Islands tuna fisheries treaty, the U.S. grants $18 million per year to Pacific island parties, including Solomon Islands, for access by licensed U.S. fishing vessels. U.S. trade with Solomon Islands is very limited.

Solomon Islands' Membership in International Organizations

Solomon Islands and the United States belong to a number of the same international organizations, including the United Nations, International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Trade Organization, Pacific Community, and Pacific Regional Environment Program.

Bilateral Representation

The U.S. Ambassador to Solomon Islands is Teddy B. Taylor, resident in Papua New Guinea; other principal embassy officials are listed in the Department's Key Officers List.

Solomon Islands has no embassy in Washington, DC, but has a permanent representative to the United Nations in New York who also is accredited as ambassador to the United States.

More information about Solomon Islands is available from the Department of State and other sources, some of which are listed here:

Department of State Solomon Islands Country Page
Department of State Key Officers List
Human Rights Reports
International Religious Freedom Reports
Trafficking in Persons Reports
U.S. Census Bureau Foreign Trade Statistics




TRAVEL ADVISORIES

To obtain the latest Travel Advisory Information for Solomon Islands check the U.S. State Department Consular Information Sheet.


TRAVEL TIPS

Driving U.S Driving Permit accepted
Currency (SBD) Solomon Islands Dollar
Electrical 230/240 Volts
Telephones Country Code 677, City Code, Honiara 20+3D, Tulagi 32+3D, Auki 40+3D



Climate
Tropicalwith average daytime temperatures around 29 degrees (85 deg F). Water temperatures 26-29 degrees C (80-85 deg F). November-March is hot & humid, with monsoon rains and possibility of cyclones. April-October is fine, dry & windy.LocationLongitude 154-162 degrees East, Latitude 5-12 degrees South.Time Zone11 hours ahead of GMT.PopulationSome 350 000, 90% of which is Melanesian. There are some Polynesians and Micronesians, mainly on the outer islands, while Chinese & European inhabit the main centres and tourist locations.MalariaReports put the rates as high as 350 per 1000 people. Malaria risk is highest during the wet season.The mosquitoes avoid sprayed areas and bite mainly at dusk - so - keep yourself sprayed, sleep under a sprayed mosquito net or in a screened room, wear long sleeves and trousers if you go out at dusk (or avoid it), and see your doctora fortnight beforehand about a course of anti malarial pills.WaterAdvisable to boil water before drinking.

Clothing
Take along clothing which is light and airy. Preferably cottons. If you like, take along a sweater for the rare cool evening. Female dress should be modest in public areas.

Currency
Solomon Island dollar (US$1= SI$3.5 approx.). Travellers cheques can be changed at all provincial capitals throughout the Solomons, but rarely elsewhere. It is best to change your traveller's cheques at a bank in Honiara before travelling to the outer areas. Major credit cards are widely accepted in hotels and restaurants in Honiara, and at the larger hotels and resorts in the provinces.

Time: GMT/UTC + 11 hours.

Electricity: 230/240V 50 Hz.

Weights & measures: Officially metric, but expect remnants of the imperial system


CUSTOMS/DUTIES

Tobacco.....200 cigarettes or 250g of cigars or 225g of tobacco

Liquor.........2 litres of wine or spirits

Perfume......Reasonable for personal use

Cameras......No restrictions

Film.............Reasonable for personal use

Gifts.............Other goods up to a value of si$400

Currency......No restrictions

Prohibited: Unlicensed firearms or other weapons and offensive literature. Fruit and vegetables other than from New Zealand need an import permit.



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