PNG signs agreement

PAPUA New Guinea will continue to work with members of the Organisation of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and European Union (EU) over the next 20 years after signing the new friendship agreement between the member states and EU recently.
Known as the Samoa Agreement, it marked the era of cooperation. Representatives from OACPS and the EU convened in Apia, Samoa, on Nov 15.
The Samoa Agreement had succeeded the Cotonou Partnership Agreement, which expired in 2020, and would serve as the new legal framework for the next 20 years between EU and the 47 African, 16 Caribbean and 15 Pacific countries, and the Republic of Maldives.
Fisheries and Marine Resources Minister Jelta Wong represented the country at the event and delivered the regional statement representing the Pacific-ACP (PACP) member countries.
Wong said: “The opening for signature of the Samoa Agreement signifies the beginning of a new era in the OACPS-EU relations.
“It also serves as testament to our long-standing, enduring partnership that has spanned almost half a century. A partnership that brings two significant groupings of countries together. Our Blue Pacific region welcomes the renewed OACPS-EU Partnership and the joint commitments to address our unique regional challenges and vulnerabilities.
“This historical event provides the opportunity to highlight the interlinkages of key partnerships and modalities of development, for realisation of our collective ambition under the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.”
The Samoa Agreement sees a renewed partnership and strengthen the capacity of the EU and OACP States to collaborate on a range of critical issues, including democracy and human rights, sustainable economic growth and development, climate change, human and social development, peace and security, migration and mobility.
The EU remained one of PNG’s biggest development partners with an estimated investment portfolio to be more than K3 billion under the past Cotonou Agreement.
The new Samoa Agreement was a significant milestone for PNG as it would enhance the ties with the EU and was expected to increase the EU’s investment portfolio in PNG to over K4 billion.
It would also support PNG’s priority developments.