Sir J: ENB trip strengthened our relations
The National, Wednesday 1st May 2013
NEW Ireland Governor Sir Julius Chan has described a recent four-day tour of neighbouring East New Britain as “very successful”.
He took the provincial implementation committee (PIC) and provincial executive council to East New Britain.
“The visit to East New Britain has been a very useful exercise of familiarisation,” he said.
“It has strengthened our relations with our neighbouring province and provided the provincial executive council and PIC members with excellent experience that can be adapted to suit New Ireland.”
The meetings at Rapopo in Kokopo were attended by former premiers Sir Ronald ToVue and Sinai Brown.
They discussed how the two provinces could better co-operate to achieve autonomy and share experiences.
The provincial executive council discussed a range of issues including contracts for chief executive officers under the provincial realignment.
Another key issue addressed during the meeting was the updating of the Malagan Declaration that was originally drafted in 2007 and provides a road map for development in New Ireland.