Press Releases
Signing and Exchange of Notes concerning support for strengthening the foundation of economic growth by providing educational ICT equipment and Police Vehicles to the Independent State of Papua New Guinea (Grant aid “the Economic and Social Development Programme”)
On February 19 in Port Moresby, capital of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, Mr. WATANABE Nobuyuki, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Independent State of Papua New Guinea (hereinafter “PNG”), and Hon. Justin TKATCHENKO, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, signed and exchanged notes for two Economic and Social Development Programmes (project of up to nine hundred million yen).
- Outline of programme is as follow;
- “The Economic and Social Development Programme (Educational ICT equipment)” (up to four hundred million yen)
PNG has been working to expand access to public education through building more schools, increasing the number of teachers, and adopting a policy of free education. However, the low academic achievement of children remains an issue, and one of the factors causing the low achievement is the difference in quality of teachers.
This programme is expected to contribute to the economic and social development of PNG through social stabilization by providing the government with ICT equipment (remote learning and web meeting system equipment, construction of school intranet, etc.), including those manufactured by Japanese companies, which is to standardize the teacher training program, thereby improving the overall quality of teachers. - “The Economic and Social Development Programme (Police Vehicles)” (up to five hundred million yen)
One of the biggest obstacles to economic and social development in PNG is high incidence of crimes such as extort money and belongings by groups of impoverished and unemployed youths. On the other hand, the police force is not functioning adequately due to a lack of personnel and budget, resulting in a situation where crimes cannot be deterred. Therefore, strengthening police capacity is an urgent issue.
This programme is expected to contribute to the economic and social development of PNG through public safety improvement by providing the government with police vehicles (patrol vehicles, etc.), including those manufactured by Japanese companies, which is to strengthen police capacity.
- “The Economic and Social Development Programme (Educational ICT equipment)” (up to four hundred million yen)
- At the Ninth Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM9) held in July 2021, Japan announced priority areas of assistance, including "Strengthening Foundation for Sustainable and Resilient Economic Development." This programme will help to realize these goals.
The country covers 462 thousand square kilometers (about 1.25 times the size of Japan) and has a population of approximately 9.119 million people. It has a per capita gross national income (GNI) of US$2,790 (2021, World Bank).
On July 2, 2021, the Ninth Pacific Islands Leaders Meeting (PALM9) was held in the form of a video conference under the co-chairmanship of Mr. SUGA Yoshihide, then Prime Minister of Japan, and Hon. Kausea NATANO, Prime Minister of Tuvalu. The meeting was attended by leaders from 19 countries and regions, including Japan, 14 island countries, Australia, New Zealand, and the two regions of New Caledonia and French Polynesia.
At PALM9, under the Pacific Bond (KIZUNA) Policy, Japan announced the continuation of development assistance over the next three years in five priority areas: (1) COVID-19 Response and Recovery, (2) Sustainable Oceans based on the Rule of Law, (3) Climate Change and Disaster Resilience, (4) Strengthening Foundation for Sustainable and Resilient Economic Development, and (5) People-to-People Exchanges and Human Resource Development for over 5,500 people.