President of Indonesia, His Excellency Prabowo Subianto, has conveyed his Letter of Confirmation through the Resident Indonesian Ambassador advising of his attendance of Papua New Guinea’s 50th Independence Anniversary in September this year.
Indonesian Ambassador to Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands, HE Andriana Supandy, accompanied by his diplomatic staff and Defense Attache, were on hand to personally deliver President Subianto Prabowo’s Letter of Confirmation.
Prime Minister James Marape, MP, was pleased to receive President Subianto’s Letter of Confirmation, which was presented at his Office in Melanesian Haus just recently.
In welcoming President Prabowo’s attendance, Prime Minister Marape stated that Papua New Guinea cannot take the bilateral relations with Indonesia for granted as PNG has expanded relations in trade and investment, downstream processing of oil palm and nickel, high quality technical education scholarships and people-to-people relations.
Prime Minister Marape informed the delegation that Indonesia is Papua New Guinea’s most important bilateral partner and a brother-sister nation adjacent to Papua New Guinea.
“The only nation where we share four types of borders with. The air, land, river, and sea borders, and we have a tribal split, half tribe here in Papua New Guinea and half on the other side.
“We thank the President for accepting our invitation and confirming that he will be with us on the 16th of September 2025.
“Let’s not take Indonesia for granted; they are the bigger economy next door to us. They’ve offered trade, people-to-people relationships including scholarships for educational spaces of all types have been offered to us,” he said.
Prime Minister Marape said the Indonesian Government has given over 2,000 educational spaces from basic TVET to high-quality TVET as well as university study.
“Just two weeks ago, we signed K6 million for the Port Moresby General Hospital upgrade. So, these are different levels of engagement running between us. More importantly, their open arm is extended towards the area of trade that is coming in a big way now.”
He said that never before has Papua New Guinea seen Indonesia from a trade standpoint, emphasizing the country’s big market with a 1.4 trillion-dollar economy.
“In my view, this economy will go into the top 10 economies in the next 10 years. That’s what I focus and predict. They are frontiers in our region in downstream processing in nickel and palm oil, and they are now frontiers in shifting towards being the manufacturing hub. It’s a good economy for us to develop a rapport.
“President Subianto will be part of our 50th anniversary, and we welcome him and thank him for accepting our invitation,” the Prime Minister said.
Meanwhile, PM Marape confirmed the attendance of the Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to the country’s Golden Jubilee celebration.
“For China, we expect a high-level delegation in attendance and all other bilateral partners. We have sent invitations to all of them to be part of our 50th anniversary celebrations.”
The Prime Minister said a couple of high-level African leaders have given indication to him that they will be in attendance like the Republic of Rwanda, President Paul Kagame.
“From far and wide, Europe, Southeast Asia, Asia, Pacific and the US. The US has given an indication that one of its high-ranking officials might attend.
“The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is coming early in September because our independence date,16 September, is closer to the UN session, so he is coming early in September.
“To have all these key nations be part of us in the last 50 years and to be among us on our anniversary is a testament to Papua New Guinea’s role in the Asia Pacific region.
The Prime Minister said that although Papua New Guinea has many issues to carry, the country has had consistent democracy 50 years on, and the most diverse nation on planet Earth.