PM invites Indian firms to trade

PRIME Minister James Marape has invited companies from India to do business in PNG to manufacture and export products back to India or the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia.
He recently met High Commissioner of India to PNG Sushil Kumar Singhal to discuss issues of mutual interest.
Marape said bilateral trade between PNG and India had been steadily increasing with a trade surplus in PNG’s favour standing at K521.67 million.
PNG’s major exports to India include copper ores and concentrates, gold, silver, logs, sawn timber, tea, scraps of iron ore, steel, aluminium, copra, marine products, coffee, vanilla and cocoa.
It imports from India pharmaceutical products (accounting for 31 per cent of imports), machinery and mechanical appliances, machinery and equipment, textile and textile articles and printed material.
“Papua New Guinea is looking at India as a potential export destination for raw materials such as fish and timber, as well as manufactured products,” he said.
“India has a huge population of 1.5 billion people hence the market is one that PNG is considering tapping into.”