A former special co-ordinator of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI) says the country's ban on guns is its biggest strength going forward.
The Australian-led regional intervention force leaves Solomon Islands Friday June 30 after 14 years of peace building work in the country following a bloody ethnic conflict which ended in 2003 with the mission's arrival.
One of the country's invited guests for celebrations to farewell RAMSI this week is Tim George who was special coordinator from 2006 to 2009 and has since served as Australia's top diplomat in Pakistan and Mexico.
Mr George said he believed as Solomon Islands continued to chart its future path, maintaining its strict ban on guns would be the key to its success.