AUSTRALIAN Prime Minister Tony Abbott believes Papua New Guinea is fast gaining recognition as a player in the global community and not just the pacific.
Spending three days in PNG on his first visit as Prime Minister, Mr Abbott visited a number of areas of the capital Port Moresby, including the Motukea dry dock and the PNG LNG plant site outside Port Moresby. He was impressed by the impact of Australian investment in PNG, and the future prospects for the country fueled by the LNG project. In a joint media conference with Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, he said PNG was not just a big country in the Pacific, but increasing becoming a player in the region and the global front. Mr Abbott said the decision by global leaders to award PNG the right to host the 2018 APEC Leaders Summit is a recognition of PNG’s leadership and influence. "Australia is looking forward to working very closely with PNG as PNG moves towards hosting the APEC Summit in 2018. This will be a very important coming of age for PNG and this will be by far the biggest international gathering ever hosted in PNG and it will demonstrate that PNG is not only a very big player in the pacific, but it is increasingly a player in the wider world. "I think it is to the credit of PNG that this will be happening and Australia will be doing what it can to support." Under Prime Minister O’Neill, PNG decided to assist Australia address the regional issue of people smuggling by agreeing to open up the Manus Regional Processing Centre. PNG is also providing financial assistance to support the elections in Fiji, scheduled for September this year. Prime Minister Abbott said Australia was committed to supporting the law and order efforts in PNG, adding that the Australian Federal Police presence in PNG would increase over time. He said it was impossible to have a prosperous PNG unless there was peace in the community. PNGFACTS/post courier Comments are closed.
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