Photo credit: Midday
Dr Asif Iqbal, President of the Indian Economic Trade Organization, greeted HE Paulias Korni, High Commissioner of Papua New Guinea, and reiterated the two countries' commitment to a strong collaboration. In India, there is a lot of interest in Papua New Guinea, a country with a lot of potential for bilateral trade in oil, gas, and gold. The Indian delegation, led by then-President Shri Pranab Mukherjee, demonstrated a high level of interest between the two countries.
Shri, the Head of the MEA Secretariat in Chennai, was present during the function. IFS Venkatachalam Murugan also spoke on India's desire to strengthen its ties with the Pacific area and its assistance for the numerous island nations around Papua New Guinea. Through the Exim Bank, India has already given several loan lines to Papua New Guinea.
Shri. Tamilnadu Minister for Finance and Human Resources Management was also present at the ceremony. Shri. Palanivel Thiaga Rajan and Palanivel Thiaga Rajan Gingee K S Masthan greeted the High Commissioner of Papua New Guinea and expressed support for bilateral partnership potential.
Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, India's finance minister, remarked that global economic links are critical and that the expansion of commercial relations between India and Papua New Guinea is encouraging. Minister of Tamil Nadu, Shri. Gingee K S Masthan also urged Tamils residing overseas to invest in the state, stating that expatriate Tamils' contribution to economic growth is critical. Tamils residing overseas should come to Tamil Nadu to develop businesses, according to the Minister for Minorities Welfare and Non-Resident Tamils' Welfare, who added that Chief Minister M K Stalin was taking particular initiatives in this regard.
“As a President of the organization, my goal is to build bilateral relations reach new heights between India and Papua New Guinea and our delegation in 2015 saw tremendous interest from the Indian side, Next delegation from Tamil Nadu will go in the month of March 2022,” said Dr Asif Iqbal, who is aiming to link businesses in PNG, The Indian team will look at the potential in the fields of contract farming, poultry, meat processing, and agricultural partnerships, as well as other options for the country's infrastructure requirements, such as setting up a gold refinery.
The High Commissioner also gave the dignitaries Papua New Guinea coffee beans and showed interest in supporting the MOU inked by GD Café Pvt Ltd and ADZGURU, led by Mr Sujoy Maitra. Mr Sujoy Maitra is a Papua New Guinea government advisor who is working on a dual taxation agreement between India and PNG. “I also would like to pledge the support for the MS CELLAMUTHU FOUNDATION headed by Dr C . Ramasubramanian who is doing yeoman service to the community of mentally challenged for enabling them employment and jobs,” said Mr Sujoy Maitra.
The High Commissioner also expressed a strong desire to help the two countries trade relations and invited the business community to look into all of the options available to investors.
PNG is the largest Pacific Island nation, both in terms of population and size, with a population of 7.1 million people and a land area of 462.840 square kilometres. Over 3,000 Indians work here, largely business people and professionals in fields like IT and IT-enabled services, education, and mining.
The total value of bilateral commerce is $ 209 million, with $157 million in imports and $52.19 million in exports. As a result of the finding of natural gas, Indian corporations are looking at different projects in PNG, and growth in commerce and trade, particularly in Indian processed food, is expected to expand.
The India Pacific Trade Council also awarded Dr R.C.M. Vishnu Prabhu M.D. with a certificate of appointment at the ceremony. Mr Jayanthi Lal was appointed as the National Trade Commissioner and Mr Jayanthi Lal was appointed as the Trade Commissioner for Commodities. Both will send delegates to the island nation to reinforce systems in place to facilitate commerce between the two countries.
Reference: Midday (10 January 2022). “Papua New Guinea Launches Coffee in India”.
