EU trade commissioner for two-day visit

A EUROPEAN Union trade commissioner will visit Papua New Guinea on Sunday, a first since the two forged ties in 1977.
Karel De Gucht, whose roles and responsibilities were similar to a trade minister, will be touring the Southeast Asian region particularly Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and PNG.
De Guchht will be in the country until Monday.
The EU Port Moresby office said De Gucht would meet several stakeholders to support the new economic partnership agreement with the region covering duty-free, quota-free access to EU markets.
“Papua New Guinea is a country in the Pacific with the highest potentials in economic and trade terms,” De Gucht said before leaving Brussels.
“The economic partnership agreement we concluded with Papua New Guinea and Fiji was a key element in our partnership with the Pacific region.
“I look forward to turning the agreement into reality now.
“This would bring real benefits to small businesses and rural areas.
“At the same time, and while we negotiate a comprehensive agreement with the whole region, the door is open to other countries to join in the agreement,” he added.
The EPA with PNG and Fiji, alongside the accord with the Caribbean, was the only agreement where the process of adoption had been completed and was now due for implementation.
While EU had opened its market completely, PNG should also take the necessary technical steps, such as dismantling tariffs.
For EPA to deliver benefits to rural areas and small businesses, it would be closely associated with development assistance for economic activities at sub-national level.