Dept continues talks on trade development

 THE Department of Trade, Commerce and Industry has started the second phase of a trade development programme in Papua New Guinea.

The European Union-funded trade related assistance programme phase 2 aims to support the department in their efforts to use trade for inclusive development and provide assistance to strengthen their capacity to ensure that beneficial trade policies could be developed and implemented.

It has been designed to enable PNG to gain more benefits from the  Economic Partnership Agreement concluded between Papua New Guinea and the EU.

The programme, costing K20 million, was implemented by the PNG government through the Department of Trade, Commerce and Industry.

Components of the programme include the support institutional reform and strengthening of trade institutions, National Trade Policy and international trade agenda development and trade facilitation support. 

The department will hold a workshop next week in Port Moresby that will be launched by the Minister for Trade, Commerce and Industry Richard Maru and Minister for National Planning Charles Abel.

The workshop will see consultations with various agencies to help develop the programme for the first year of the three-year implementation period.

The department said that the programme would benefit the PNG society through the increased trade capacity and investment attraction which should lead to employment creation and poverty alleviation.