Sam Basil, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Commerce and Finance, is in Paris this week for trade negotiations with Franck Riester, the French Minister Delegate to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs.
The two ministers met to discuss ways to improve PNG-France economic relations.
Both ministers want to see more coordination in new areas such as renewable energy, especially as part of the French Development Agency's (AFD) Pacific mandate being expanded.
They applauded the signing of an agreement between the government and Total, allowing the PAPUA LNG project to resume after two years of negotiations.
DPM Basil was told by Minister delegate Riester of France's support for Papua New Guinea in its war against COVID-19.
France has thus sent humanitarian aid to the PNG government, including tents, Covid kits, antigen scans, and travel respirators, to assist the government and its people, who are suffering from a deteriorating health situation.
This assistance is part of a FRANZ deal between France, Australia, and New Zealand to coordinate relief to people impacted by natural disasters in the Pacific region, and it is a tangible example of the Indo-Pacific steps being taken.
“We are happy to underline that the first visit of a government official since the beginning of the Covid Crisis was in France,” Riester said.
