Solomon Islands PM pledges 'reset' with Australia

The newly elected leader of the Solomon Islands has sought a "reset" of relations with Australia, starting work on a major new treaty and signalling a reversal of his predecessors' pro-China stance.

In his first overseas trip as prime minister, Matthew Wale said his country had a bumpy relationship with Australia in recent years but he is now pushing for closer ties.

"We acknowledge that there's been problems in the last few years, I'll be honest," Mr Wale told reporters in Canberra after formal talks with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

"But the resilience of our relationship, I think, is self-evident."

The two leaders said officials would begin work on a comprehensive treaty in which Australia and the Solomons would confront global challenges "as partners".

"This will be agreed in a new comprehensive treaty underpinned by mutual trust, respect and open dialogue," Mr Albanese said.

Mr Wale was elected prime minister in a parliamentary vote in mid-May, replacing pro-China leader Jeremiah Manele and promising a recalibration of his country's role in the region.

A 2022 decision by Mr Manele's predecessor to strike a confidential security deal with Beijing marked a souring of relations between Australia and the small Pacific nation.

Mr Wale was critical of the pact when it was signed, and has promised to make the text of the agreement public.

But he said he had only been given a copy a day before departing for Australia and needed more time to review it.

"I've been praying and fasting about it, but of course cabinets will need to have a look at these things," he said.

Mr Albanese indicated the new treaty would take time to finalise as the foreign ministers of Australia and the Solomons worked through the details.

"Today is of course day one," he said.

Mr Albanese and Mr Wale also said they would move to the next phase of a long-stalled security agreement aimed at growing the Solomons' police force, with a construction of a police academy in the capital Honiara scheduled to finish in 2028.

In a joint statement after their meeting, the pair said Australia would also give the Solomons $35 million to help the small island nation handle global energy shocks from the Iran war and recover from Tropical Cyclone Maila.

Australia will create more spots for Solomon Islands workers in the PALM program, which allows people from Pacific nations to travel to Australia to work on farms.

School students waving Australian and Solomon Islands flags greeted the two leaders and Mr Wale's wife Veronica Ruala Waletofea as they arrived in Parliament House's marble foyer on Wednesday morning.

Mr Albanese paused to take a selfie with one student named Matteo, who shared his last name, while Mr Wale looked on.

Mr Wale described the welcome to Canberra, which included a military honour guard and a gun salute, as "very moving".

"The cannons this morning, I thought blimey - it's something else. So pardon my naivety, it was all very nice," he said.

Australia has in recent times finalised treaties with Tuvalu, Nauru and Papua New Guinea, while a security pact with Fiji is in the works.