Lakhan praises PNG

By HENRY MORABANG
THE Papua New Guinea Sports Foundation (PNGSF) and the Papua New Guinea Olympic Committee (PNGOC) ought to be congratulated for hosting this year’s National Sports Conference, Pacific Games president Vidhya Lakhan says.
Lakhan, who was a keynote speaker at the conference in Port Moresby yesterday, reflected on the Pacific Games’, which had come a long way since the first event in Suva, Fiji, in 1963.
He said the National Sports Conference was just one example of the PNG Government working closely with the stakeholders in sports to advance the interests of its people, especially the youth.
Speaking on the conference theme, ‘raising and sustaining sport through partnerships for national and regional development’, Lakhan said PNG could not rest on its laurels and the successes and achievements of the past.
He said PNG has had to make every effort to continuously lift the bar.
“In my view, the organisers ought to be congratulated for hosting this important conference to review your national sports policy soon after staging an exceptional Pacific Games — a little over 12 months ago.
“The outcomes of this conference and the revised sports policy adopted for PNG will lay the foundation to take your athletes and nation to a higher level internationally.”
Lakhan said the best example in recent times of government and sport working together in PNG for the country’s development was last year’s Pacific Games, which he said were historic.