PM lauds PIF position

Main Stories, National
Source:

The National, Monday September 14th, 2015

 By MALUM NALU

PACIFIC Islands Forum chairman and Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O’Neill says the PIF has taken a “very constructive position” on the West Papua issue.

He said that on Friday after the post-forum dialogue at the Sir John Guise Stadium indoor complex.

The five main issues of the PIF were West Papua, fisheries, climate change, cervical cancer and information and communications technology.

“We have taken a very constructive position despite all the emotions and everything that is out there,” O’Neill said. “I think the leaders have taken a very-responsible position in that even if we are going to talk about human rights issues, improving living conditions for our people in West Papua provinces, self-determination or political autonomy, those are issues that we as an international community must engage meaningfully, particularly with our friends in Indonesia.

“We have expressed that already.

“Forum leaders have delegated that to me as the chair of the forum that I will initiate the discussions and find a way forward, and report back to the forum next year.”

O’Neill said Pacific leaders felt that they could get “more benefit” from fisheries.

“Pacific leaders felt that we can get more benefits for our countries, particularly in returnsfrom the fish that is being caught in our waters in the Pacific region,” he said.

“Again, we are also trying to create downstream processing, including processing of fisheries in Papua New Guinea.

“I hope that we can be able to ensure that the outcomes of the fisheries agreement by the leaders can be implemented by our agencies, including a new method of a quota system in addition to the vessel-day scheme that we have already in place in this industry.

“The Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat will lead discussions, together with Forum Fisheries Agency and PNA (Parties to the Nauru Agreement) Office – which is eight PNA countries in the region.” 

O’Neill said leaders had taken a position that they would go to the COP 21 meeting in Paris to engage with the international community to ensure that 1.5 degrees Celsius was the target for average maximum temperature rise in any country.

He said leaders had agreed to increase their efforts in ensuring “that we save the lives of our mothers, our women and especially our young girls in the region”.