FORTY unarmed Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers will be based in the Solomon Islands as trainers when the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) leaves in a few weeks’ time.

In a latest statement by AFP issued yesterday, the training programme will cost $AUD79m over four years.

It says the 40 officers will not be armed and they will not have policing powers, but will undertake capacity building work.

Dubbed the Solomon Islands Police Development Programme (SIPDP), this will become AFP’s second-largest overseas deployment after the 73-officer mission in Papua New Guinea.

It says SIPDP was developed in consultation with key stakeholders in Solomon Islands, including Australian Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT), the Royal Solomon Island Police Force RSIPF, and the Solomon Islands Government.

RAMSI Special Coordinator Quinton Devlin recently told the media that RAMSI will be leaving on the 30th next month.

The multi-national regional assistance mission since its intervention in 2003, ended the violent ethnic conflict and rebuilds the country’s governance machineries, police infrastructure and capacity development projects which it promised to complete before leaving on June 30.

Meanwhile, the statement said Members of the SIPDP mission to report to the AFP SIPDP Mission Commander in the country who then reports to the AFP Manager International Operations.

It says Australia’s total overseas aid to Solomon Islands in the 2017-18 financial year is $142million.