Trip a success, says PM

By LULU MAGINDE
PRIME Minister James Marape has hailed his recent trips to four countries as a success, saying Papua New Guinea needs to build on the bi-lateral relationships he managed to establish.
“(It was) two weeks or so of engagements with international leaders in the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan and the United States who control over 35 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product,” he said.
“It is us who needs those relationships, not them.
“They can survive without PNG.
“But, we need those connections so that whatever we produce here can then be exported to them.
“The onus is on Government to put our money where our mouth is and ramp up coffee, cocoa and copra production, as well as supporting livestock and fisheries production — not just oil, gas and mining.”
Marape and International Trade Minister Richard Maru discussed the possibility of supplying Japan with more liquefied natural gas.
At the United Nations General Assembly, Marape touched on forest conservation projects in the country and PNG’s ability to contribute to world food security, especially with the establishment of four agriculture-based ministries.
He said the US had also heard PNG’s views on creating space for students and possible visa arrangements for Papua New Guineans to go to the US to find jobs.
He said the long trip was “quite tiring”.
“It wasn’t easy travelling between different time zones,” Marape said.
“(But) we must now get to work to ensure a fruitful outcome from our bilateral relationships.”