Matters of trade and investment to tourism and climate change will be put forward by both Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Fiji as matters of importance during meetings with India and the United States (US) during the Forum for India Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) tomorrow, Monday 22nd May.
Both countries have consolidated their stand to unite and speak on behalf of the smaller island countries of the Pacific during the meetings. The issues to take center-stage during these discussions will be investment and trade in the region, climate change mitigation solutions, environment and conservation, and labour mobility and employment.
Prime Minister, James Marape affirmed this position with Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka at a bilateral meeting in Port Moresby on Friday morning. Prime Minister Marape said when the FIPIC sits on Monday, PNG and Fiji would be united in one voice, advocating for the Small Island Countries of the Pacific on pressing issues common in the Pacific.
A similar position will be made to US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, who is now stepping in for President Joe Biden. According to PM Marape, he stated that as the elder leader of the Pacific, they will invite Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka to make a bold statement at the meeting with India on Monday, and to the US Secretary of State after that.
“PNG, Fiji and all our smaller Pacific countries will be going in with one mind to meet the leaders of these two nations. India is an emerging global powerhouse, coming out from a similar colonial past, with a big carbon footprint and a big global responsibility. It also has a big market.”
“For us, the Pacific takes up a huge part of the world in terms of space. One cannot go to India without going through the Pacific; one cannot go to America without passing through the Pacific – whether on sea or by air. We might be small in landmass, but in terms of space, we occupy a substantial part of the world.”
PM Marape further stated that within this, the pacific have custodial rights. Fish and marine resources need to be protected from exploitation and properly developed; the land is subjected to the effects of climate change therefore victimizing the people.
These he said are the issues that they will put straight on the table without fear. Meanwhile, PM Marape said his own conversation with the US would be similar as in the past, where the US would be asked once more to seriously consider the downstream processing of Pacific tuna and other marine resources in the Pacific to return greater benefits to Pacific people, including PNG.
He once more reiterated PNG’s foreign policy stance, which he said continues to be “Friend to all: Enemy to none.”