HENRY YAMO in Rarotonga | Pacific Scoop

PAPUA NEW GUINEA IS KEEN TO ENGAGE with other Pacific countries on many issues – including climate change – that have an impact on all countries in the region, says prime minister Peter O’Neill.

But the government is also equally keen to engage with development partners, he told journalists in the Cook Islands yesterday.

“Coming to the Forum on the back of an election, we also have specific agendas which we took to the elections and need to be addressed at the country level,” he said.

He said internal issues included the government giving particular attention to education, health, law and order and fighting corruption within the country.

“We also need infrastructure to continue to maintain the growth of our economy and maintaining and ensuring the fiscal economy continues to deliver a better outcome that our country deserves,” he said.

O’Neill said some agendas might be too large and considered to be too ambitious at times but his government believed it could deliver over the next five years.

“So we came to the Forum keen to engage with all the other countries and development partners in terms of regional trade, security and migrations, he said.

He said PNG was also interested in partnerships that would enable labour mobility within the region and he would pursue these over the next few days.

Henry Yamo is a postgraduate communication studies student at AUT University reporting with the Cook Islands News team