O’Neill meets US state representative

MINISTER for Finance and Treasury Peter O’Neill yesterday met with a senior official of the US state department.
Deputy assistant secretary in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Frankie A. Reed paid a courtesy call on O’Neill at his office in Vulupindi Haus yesterday.
Reed was accompanied by US Ambassador to PNG Teddy Taylor.
During the meeting, the two discussed a number of issues regarding the interests of both countries, including possible technical support to the Treasury Department by the US government.
The discussion is a follow-up to a meeting O’Neill had with officials from the state department when he visited Washington DC earlier this year for the annual World Bank Group spring meeting.
O’Neill described the meeting with Reed as cordial and very encouraging.
He said Papua New Guinea stood to gain from a very strong bilateral relationship with the US and “will benefit from a range of technical expertise the US could offer”.
“At the economic growth rate we are experiencing, we welcome any assistance the United States can offer us in improving governance, public service and especially expertise in areas of management of treasury and public finance,” O’Neill said.
Reed practised law and worked as a print journalist before joining the department of state.