Prime Minister Hon. James Marape, MP, today concluded his Indonesia and Japan trips, returning home to Port Moresby, at 8:00, this morning.
In Jakarta, Indonesia, the Prime Minister attended and participated in the 3rd PNG-Indonesia Leaders Dialogue, where upon concluding the high-level dialogue, Prime Minister Marape said, despite Indonesia being PNG’s closest neighbor, where our two countries are only divided by a ‘strip of line’, for so long dialogue between the nations has mostly been centered on Border Security and related matters.
He said this has now changed significantly by way of negotiations extending to Business Investment, Education, and Health.
“The wall that existed between PNG and Indonesia has now been broken down, with business opportunities opening up between us and improved Cross Border Movement in terms of people and goods.
We were able to sign a Memorandum of Understanding underpinning four main focus areas:
– MoU on Cross Border Movement for Commercial Buses and Coaches;
– MoU on Cross Border Transport of Goods by Motor Vehicles;
– MoU on Cooperation in the Field of Education; and
– Renewed MoU on Cooperation in the Field of Health.
He also met with the outgoing Indonesian President Joko Widodo and the incoming president-elect, Prabowo Subianto.
He expressed appreciation to the Indonesian President for the partnership over recent years and the work that has been put into strengthening ties between PNG and Indonesia.
He also looks forward to working closely with the new President, thus continuing the foundation that has been set already.
In Tokyo, Japan, PM Marape attended the 10th Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM10), where he spoke on behalf of the smaller islands of the Pacific, strongly advocating for Japan’s intervention in assisting in downstream processing of the region’s marine resources and the growth of PNG’s and the region’s economy.
Addressing the high-level meeting of heads of governments and states from the Pacific Island Forum member countries, the Prime Minister took the stage to advocate on the development of fisheries in the region, specifically inviting Japan to consider a Special Economic Zone in PNG for tuna downstream processing.
Also on the margins of the PALM10 Prime Minister Marape met with his Japanese counterpart Mr Fumio Kishida and had fruitful discussions during a bilateral meeting at Prime Minister Kishidas Office in Tokyo on Tuesday 16th July 2024.