The Solomon Islands prime minister Rick Hou says he aims to pass dual citizenship legislation before the end of his tenure.
Rick Hou in Wellington. Photo: RNZ Pacific/ Koroi Hawkins
Mr Hou made the committment while speaking to Solomon Islanders in Wellington during his trip to New Zealand last week.
He acknowledged that many Solomon Islanders of mixed ethnicity and those living abroad had been seeking such a law for years.
The Dual Citizenship Bill was tabled during a previous sitting of parliament but withdrawn because the house was one MP short of the two thirds majority required to pass constitutional amendments.
"I am hoping that next month we would have the numbers for us to move this dual citizenship forward," Mr Hou said.
"That is what many of the communities I have met in Port Moresby, in the United Kingdom, our communities overseas... they have told us they want us to see to this."
The issue has raised concern in Solomon Islands with some saying only indigenous Solomon Islanders should be eligible for dual citizenship.
