I was very pleased to meet with Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill, in Canberra today. That we met on Australia Day reflects the close and enduring partnership between the two countries. It is also significant that we met so early in the year which mark’s PNG’s fortieth anniversary of independence.
Prime Minister O’Neill and I discussed a range of important bilateral and regional issues, noting that our economic links continue to expand.
We discussed progress in the processing and resettlement of people in the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre. I thanked Prime Minister O’Neill for the role PNG is playing in the orderly management of the Centre and ensuring we do not see a return of the scourge of people smuggling and deaths at sea in our region. We discussed the importance of prompt resettlement in PNG of those found to be refugees.
We underlined our shared commitment to strengthening regional cooperation in the Pacific in the lead-up to this year’s Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) leaders meeting in PNG in September, which I look forward to attending.
The PIF remains the region’s pre-eminent regional body – I am delighted that it will be guided this year by my friend Peter O’Neill because PNG has a critical role to play in our region.
I reiterated to Mr O’Neill Australia’s strong commitment to assisting PNG to stage APEC in 2018.
26 January 2015