Vanuatu police to train at PNG Center of Excellence

A delegation from the Vanuatu police force have been welcomed as preparations continue for Vanuatu police recruits to undertake training at the PNG Centre of Excellence at Bomana next year.

50 Vanuatu police recruits will undertake a six-month program at Bomana next year, delivered jointly by instructors from Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu.

Police Commissioner David Manning said that, by training alongside RPNGC personnel, the Vanuatu recruits will strengthen domestic policing skills, deepen their understanding of cross-border law enforcement and establish professional networks that can be called upon during future regional operations.

“The Pacific is facing increasingly complex threats from transnational criminal organisations who seek to exploit vulnerabilities across our region.

“Pacific police forces are working together to prevent our countries from being used as transit points for illicit drugs, weapons, laundered money, human trafficking and other organised criminal activity.” Commissioner Manning said.

Manning said, Papua New Guinea’s policing relationship with Australia is now deepened with operational partnerships, including Vanuatu.

Commissioner Manning said the RPNGC–Vanuatu recruit training program, discussed by Police Ministers in Port Vila in July this year, would strengthen the professional skills of Vanuatu Police Force recruits while building lasting operational relationships between the two police forces.

He said the benefits flowing from the RPNGC–Vanuatu recruit program shows the wider potential of Pacific police forces working together as the region moves forward.