Japan-Papua New Guinea Foreign Minister’s Meeting

October 26, 2010
Japanese

On October 26 (Tue), for about 30 minutes from 7:15 PM, Mr. Seiji Maehara, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, had a meeting at the Nagoya Congress Center with The Hon Samuel Tei Abal, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Immigration of Papua New Guinea, who is visiting Japan to attend the Aichi-Nagoya Ministerial Meeting of the REDD+ Partnership as a co-chair. The outline of the meeting is as follows.

Aichi-Nagoya Ministerial Meeting of the REDD+ Partnership

At the beginning, Minister Maehara thanked Minister Abalfor his attendance at the Aichi-Nagoya Ministerial Meeting of the REDD+ Partnership as a co-chair, and paid his respect for the Minister’s leadership in this matter. Minister Maehara expressed his expectation that the result of the Aichi-Nagoya Ministerial Meeting will serve as a major momentum for the success of COP16. In response, Minister Abal expressed his gratitude for Japan’s invitation, and stated that he would like to continue working closely with Japan in this area, noting that forest conservation is an important issue for Papua New Guinea.
Bilateral Relations

(1) Overview
Minister Maehara thanked for the attendance of Deputy Prime Minister Don Polye from Papua New Guinea at the PALM Ministerial Interim Meeting, which was recently held. Furthermore, Minister Maehara expressed his willingness to send Parliamentary Vice-Minister level to Papua New Guinea as early as possible with a view to further developing the bilateral relations, noting the importance Japan places on Papua New Guinea which plays a leading role in the Pacific islands region. In response, Minister Abal stated he was pleased with the expansion of relations with Japan, from the traditional intergovernmental relations centered on economic cooperation to private sectors, and that he would welcome a political level visit from Japan.

(2) Economic relations, etc.
Minister Maehara welcomed the progress of investment by Japanese companies in the area of natural resources and energy, and requested to the Government of Papua New Guinea to cooperate for the smooth progress of the liquid natural gas (LNG) and other projects that involve Japanese companies. Minister Abal responded that he welcomes the participation of Japanese companies given the importance of the LNG project to Papua New Guinea. The two Foreign Ministers also agreed to accelerate the negotiation for a Bilateral Investment Treaty currently underway between the two countries.
Minister Maehara pointed out that improvement of public security would be essential in order for Japanese tourists to safely visit Papua New Guinea and to encourage investment by Japanese companies. He welcomed the measures being taken to improve public security, in particular concerning the patrol around the airport. Minister Maehara also said that he would like to consider lowering the level of Travel Advice and Warning of Port Moresby after further grasping the local situation.
United Nations Security Council reform

Minister Maehara said he would like to continue working with Papua New Guinea toward the realization of the reform of the United Nations (UN) Security Council. Minister Abal responded that Papua New Guinea shares the same stance on the necessity of the UN Security Council reform and that he would continue to support Japan’s effort toward this end.

(END)

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