Photo: James Marape
From the 3rd to the 8th of February 2022, James Marape, MP will make official trips to the People's Republic of China (PRC) and then to France from the 9th to the 13th of February 2022.
The Prime Minister is visiting the PRC at President Xi Jinping's invitation to attend the Beijing Winter Olympics opening ceremony on February 4th. Apart from this significant international sports event, Prime Minister Marape will meet with President Xi and Premier Li Keqiang for high-level bilateral talks. Indeed, the sports event is only a minor portion of a four-day calendar of events.
Following his visit to the People's Republic of China, Prime Minister Li Keqiang will go to Brest, Western France, for the One Ocean Summit, which will be hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron.
“In terms of the visit to the PRC, I intend for it to be more practical and meaningful and draw tangible outcomes unlike previous visits and will be specifically focusing on securing Business, Trade and Investment opportunities to complement Papua New Guinea’s socio-economic agenda,” the Prime Minister said.
“In this context, I will seize the occasion to invite potential and reputable Chinese State Corporations to invest in downstream processing of our Oil and Gas, Mining, Fisheries, Agriculture (Rice, Coffee & Cocoa, Livestock) and Forestry sectors,” he said.
“It is my intention to secure major Chinese Corporations and offer them incentives that are well within our investment regulations to assist PNG to develop the above sectors to produce and add value to the finished products that will sustain our domestic markets and also export to the lucrative Chinese market.”
Prime Minister Marape said the tour will give his group a chance to meet with industry leaders and see firsthand the downstream processing facilities and activities of the newly formed Special Economic Zones.
Apart from attending the One Ocean Summit to address conservation and sustainable management of our vast seas, particularly the Pacific, Prime Minister Marape will meet with President Macron for high-level bilateral discussions during his visit to France.
He will also meet separately with Mr Patrick Pouyane, CEO of Total Energies, a French petroleum company, to finalize plans and schedules for the different milestone phases leading to the building of the Papua LNG and P'nyang Gas Projects.
Leaders will be able to participate in discussions about how to protect and conserve the world's oceans from the effects of climate change, as well as how to harness and use the ocean's potential to develop mitigation and adaptation technologies that will help reduce emissions and provide environmental protection.
Furthermore, the focus of the discussions will be on cooperative methods to strengthen port security and combat illicit activities such as IUU fishing (Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing).
The bilateral talks with President Macron will provide an opportunity for both leaders to elevate existing bilateral relations and explore potential areas of cooperation with the goal of expanding current engagements in biodiversity, agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and climate change, among other things.
On these two international engagements, the Prime Minister will be accompanied by a smaller delegation of relevant Ministers, Members of Parliament, and Senior Government Officials who will provide policy advisory support in order to produce tangible results that will complement PNG's socio-economic agenda.
The Prime Minister and his delegation are scrupulously adhering to all COVID-19 international travel norms.
Reference: Department of Prime Minister and National Executive Council (2 February 2022). “Prime Minister Marape To Embark On Official Visit To China And France In February 2022”.
