US wants to see PNG less dependent on foreign aid

THE United States government wants to see Papua New Guinea become less dependent on foreign aid and survive more on its own, an official says.
Sean Callahan, the USAid deputy mission director for Pacific and Mongolia, was in the country as part of a scoping mission for the PNG electrification partnership programme.
He said the US government would like to see PNG make its own decisions on capacity building and financing without needing foreign assistance.
“USAid can help with technical assistance to improve so they are managing something on their own, ending the need for foreign assistance. It may not be tomorrow, may be longer,” Callahan said.
“Papua New Guinea is an important partner of US and change from a donor-recipient relationship to a one of true partnership is what we want.”
The areas of partnership include working with the Department of Health on the treatment of HIV-AIDS.
“That’s a partnership that has been very successful and will continue for the next few years,” Callahan said.
“We also have good partnership with the Office of Climate Change and Development through a programme called Climate Ready.
“We are looking at how we can help the agency implement and manage its own programmes to address climate change issues affecting Papua New Guinea in terms of accessing climate financing and programme management.”