PM interested in Malaysia’s policies

PRIME Minister James Marape wants to know how Malaysia developed from a rural agri-based to a modern economy through Prime Minister Mahathir Bin Mohamad.
He made this known when he met with Malaysian High Commissioner Mohamad Nasri Abdul Rahman recently.
Marape said his desire is to draw from that experience to “Take back PNG” and make it the richest black Christian nation.
Marape acknowledged the long and fruitful relations and reaffirmed PNG’s continued support and stressed that under his watch, he would work on consolidating this relationship to ensure tangible outcomes for Papua New Guinea.
In terms of investment, Marape assured the high commissioner that all investors were welcomed and any amendments to policies and regulations were in no way intended to discourage foreign investment, but to protect the interests of the investors as well as PNG citizens and ensure foreign investors were complying with PNG’s domestic laws and regulations.
In response, Mohamed informed of a large presence of Malaysian investors in PNG and indicated that other Malaysian businesses were interested in investing in the country and further made mention of his government’s interest in the new Marape-Steven administration and whether the policies and priorities and the interest by Petronas, Malaysia to invest in PNG’s gas and oil sector.
Marape was encouraged and informed the high commissioner that he would be happy for Petronas and Kumul Consolidated Holdings to meet at a later date to consolidate ideas and find practical ways of developing the petroleum and gas sector in PNG.
In other matters, Mohamad advised of training opportunities available to Papua New Guineans particularly for public servants under the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme, which could be utilised to help develop PNG’s human capital.
Marape expressed his intentions to visit Malaysia in November 2020, just prior to the Apec Leaders’ Summit in Kuala Lumpur to further enhance existing relations as well as promote business, trade and investment opportunities.