Canada proud to help PNG aim towards Apec success

By PETER ESILA
CANADA is proud to help Papua New Guinea host a successful Apec Leaders’ Summit next month with its IT project assistance to the joint security task force command centre at Morauta Haus in Port Moresby.
Australian-based Canadian High Commissioner Paul Maddison said this when opening the centre in Port Moresby yesterday.
The centre has printers, monitors, scanners and close to 200 computers.
“It is about partnership,” Maddison said.
“A couple of years ago, we wanted to find an opportunity to contribute to bring something unique to the table that would be a force multiplier, that would be of value added.”
He said Canada, having no personnel present in PNG, went into an agreement with the United Nations Office of Project Services to implement the project.
“This is a gift from Canada to the government of PNG for recognising the partnership, also recognising the partnership with our friends from the Australian Defence Force, Australian Federal Police and many others,” Maddison said.
“That will be the centre of operation in the next couple of weeks to ensure that the intelligence and the surveillance data that is out there will all be fused.
“That will enable quick and effective decision-making around any type of security challenges over the rest of the Apec period.
“We also hope that once Apec is done, the potential here will be fully exploited in the national command centre or operation that will allow senior security officials in PNG to increase the capacity to deal with emergency situations.”
Apec Minister Justin Tkatchenko said security was one of our key factors to ensure that all the world leaders were safe and sound in Port Moresby.
“This security centre will be manned by Papua New Guineans from Police, Defence, National Intelligence Organisation with our friends as from Australia, New Zealand and USA,” he said.
“This centre will be the eyes and ears of watching and ensuring that prevention is better than cure and ensuring that we get it right.
“This will be the nerve centre for Apec during the Apec leaders’ week.”