Trade with Indonesia will help us: Donald

NORTH Fly MP James Donald says the Government’s new focus on trade and investment with Indonesia will help the district in the long run when the Ok Tedi mine closes.
Donald spoke in support of Trade and Investment Minister Richard Maru who said this week that the Government planned to shift its attention on trade to Asia, starting with Indonesia.
Donald said North Fly was looking at Indonesia as a substitute to the Ok Tedi mine.
“We want to declare the Ningerum local level government where the border development is happening, to be a free trade zone,” he said.
North Fly in 2018 began building a road to connect the district to the Papua province of Indonesia.
Donald said the road would be a catalyst to trade and investment between Western and Indonesia.
He said the road from Alicepit in Ningerum to Yetetkun in Indonesia was the product of a memorandum of understanding between Indonesia’s Papua province and Western.
In 2020, PNG exported US$32.9 million (about K115.83 million) to Indonesia and the main products exported to Indonesia were vanilla, cocoa beans and Sawn wood.