PNG PM James Marape, right, and PNG Treasurer Ian Ling Stuckey, centre, meet United States Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen. Photo: Facebook.com/PNG Office of the Prime Minister
Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has told American government officials and the business sector that Pacific Island nations are not there in the US to look for aid but negotiate better business opportunities.
Marape, speaking at a meeting hosted by the US Treasury Department and Business Council for International Understanding, stressed the importance of the combined air and water space that Pacific people possess and the opportunities this presents.
"Our combined Pacific air and water space is almost 30 percent of the Earth's surface while our ocean holds substantial marine resources.
"Likewise, our forests and land hold rich biodiversity, minerals and other resources while our island communities are places of huge cultural diversity," he said.
The prime minister said Pacific countries want to process their fish, coffee, cocoa, copra, timber, and minerals into finished products and sell to markets in the US, or together, into the Asian market place.
He invited American companies to follow the lead of Barrick, Newmont, ExxonMobil and Total in investing in mining, and oil & gas.
Marape said the presence of these companies demonstrates the reliability of PNG and the Pacific as investment destinations.
"We do not want aid and grant but we need investors to partner our local companies in businesses," he said.
"We also want more tourists to visit the Pacific, and we want our students to have the opportunity to study and work in USA," he said.
Marape also asked for a review of the structure of the international financial architecture so that victims of climate change, such as Pacific Island nations, who hold big carbon sinks in their forests and oceans, could be compensated and are able to access low-cost infrastructure financing and the Green Climate Fund.