Minister encourages dialogue

Jack Wai from PDL 2 in Kutubu trying out Exxon Mobil Ltd’s VR (virtual reality) glass guided by Exon Mobil Ltd’s Michael Gawi during the 2019 PNG Mining and Petroleum conference in Port Moresby yesterday.

Sophia Magi inside the Porgera Joint Venture booth listening to the Australian government senior business development manager Eric Yawas during the 2019 PNG Mining and Petroleum conference at The Stanley Hotel & Suites in Port Moresby yesterday. – Nationalpics by JASON KAVAN

By DALE LUMA
TREASURY Minister Ian Ling-Stuckey has urged the resources sector to be patient when it comes to project negotiations.
Addressing the 2019 PNG Mining and Petroleum conference at The Stanley Hotel & Suites in Port Moresby, he encouraged dialogue.
“In the coming weeks and months, as we go forward and talk about our little projects and our medium-size projects and larger projects, maybe we should listen a little longer,” he said.
“We should take a bit longer to harden our resolve and the most important thing is that we try to keep on talking as much as possible.
“Those relationships are just critical at this point in time as the situation has been really tense and hostile at times.” Ling-Stuckey said in the past if someone had a project and wanted to get it off the ground and knew it was tough, “you spend a lot of time trying to understand each other’s position”.
The resources sector has contributed to a larger share of the economy in the last 40 years averaging 18 per cent of the economy, he said.
“At the moment, the PNG LNG (liquefied natural gas) is about 28 percent of the economy,” he said.
“The resources sector is an important and vital part of the economy obviously and I hope that many of our leaders listen carefully to that sincerely.”
Ling-Stuckey said the Treasury Department was ready to support the sector in whatever way it could.
The conference will end tomorrow.