The Minister for International Trade and Investment has told his officers and staff of the Department of International Trade and Investment (DITI) that 2024 will be the year of implementation of everything that they have laid the ground works for this year. Speaking at a recent DITI event in the city of Port Moresby, Minister Richard Maru said one of the main things on the agenda is the Special Economic Zone (SEZ) projects. He said the Ministry of International Trade and Investment (MITI), which is still quite new, was created to be the primary driver of economic growth in Papua New Guinea (PNG), through the SEZs and other avenues such the opening of Trade Missions, establishing trade agreements and bringing in investments. Minister Maru said SEZs have the potential of creating more employment for the people than resource sector projects like in the mining and petroleum sectors, which at the start of their construction phase, recruit more people and then downsizing once construction ends and the production phase commences. The Minister said with the SEZs, they will create permanent employment for thousands of Papua New Guineans. He gave the example of the current Paga Hill SEZ project in Port Moresby. Maru said once it’s completed, 5, 000 to 7, 000 permanent jobs are expected to be created. Hence, the minister urged the staff of both the MITI and the DITI that next year, a lot more will be done to establish the SEZs, which he said was made possible through the inaugural SEZ Summit early this year. “As a result of the SEZ Summit, we are likely to have seven to eight licensed SEZs by next year,” said the minister. Reflecting on 2023, Maru told the staff that a lot more will be demanded of them in 2024 in terms of the SEZs. “It’s been a tough year, but we’ve made a lot of progress. So, I think next year will be more exciting. The foundation and the hard yard were laid this year, next year we are going to start seeing the benefits.” Meanwhile, the main achievements for both the MITI and DITI this year included the SEZ Summit, the World Indigenous Business Forum (WIBF) and inaugural PNG- Asia Investment Conference 2023 held in Hong Kong to name a few.