Malape arrives in Indonesia

Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Malape is currently on a visit to Indonesia and will subsequently visit Japan.

Also attending this important meeting were Minister of Livestock Seki Agisa, Minister of Oil Palm Francis Maneke, Minister of International Trade and Investment Richard Maru, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Justin Tkatchenko

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister John Russo will serve as Acting Prime Minister during this period.

Malape left Port Moresby yesterday and held the annual leadership dialogue with outgoing Indonesian President Joko Widodo on July 14-15.

This will be the third dialogue after the first in Jakarta in 2022 and the second in Port Moresby in 2023.

During the visit, he will also meet with the newly elected President of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto.

Starting from Indonesia, Mr. Malape will travel to Japan from July 16th to 18th to attend the Pacific Islands Leaders' Meeting (PALM) summit, where he will have talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and leaders of Pacific Islands Forum countries.

Mr. Malape said, "Indonesia and Papua New Guinea share common land and sea borders, and there are many issues of common concern that must be discussed at these regular meetings

Our two countries are increasingly valuing trade and commercial exchanges so that our products can find a market in Indonesia, and Indonesian products can also find a market in Papua New Guinea“

Indonesia has a large population of over 270 million, making it the fourth most populous country in the world and requiring food, energy, and other agricultural products. They are the world's largest consumer of beef. Given Indonesia's large population, my focus is on exporting agricultural products to Asian countries, including Indonesia“

Indonesia continues to provide us with assistance, with the most recent aid being this week when we dispatched four planes to deliver relief supplies to the flood victims in Enga province, as well as those affected by landslides in the west“

I look forward to meeting with President Widodo to discuss these and other issues, including bilateral relations, education, and various other matters. Under the leadership of the new President Prabowo Subianto, the relationship between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea must continue to be maintained

In Japan, Malape stated that in addition to attending the PALM summit, he will also hold bilateral talks with Japanese Foreign Minister Kishida and meet with Emperor Naruhito.

Japan is a major importer of Papua New Guinea products, including liquefied natural gas, minerals, fisheries, forestry, and agriculture. During my visit to Japan, I will also have the opportunity to visit Japan's technology, agriculture, and road construction projects“

Japan also hopes that Papua New Guinea will continue to supply it with energy, and I will further discuss this issue with them during my visit. Our two countries must continue to maintain good civil, business, and government relations.