The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed on Friday 14th July to make way for a Joint Venture (JV) partnership between the State and the RD Group, marks a turning point for Papua New Guinea (PNG) in the fisheries industry. Minister for International Trade and Investment, Richard Maru, said that for far too long PNG has only been giving out licenses to fishing companies to come into PNG waters, fish and take about 80% of catch from the country’s waters to canneries and processing plants in other countries. “We have not learnt to fish in commercial fishing boats, we have no master fishermen. Effectively, our country has been a rent collector and a spectator in this very important resource for a very long time,” said Minister Maru. “Our goal is simple; at some point we want to see 100% of our catch caught and processed in Papua New Guinea. This will result in the creation of 10 more processing plants and employ Papua New Guineans.” That is why the MOU signing was important because the RD Group already has fish processing plants in Madang and has been operating in the country for 28 years now, which means it would be easier to establish as larger operation in a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) as JV partners in commercial fishing. The MOU signed in Port Moresby aims to negotiate commercial terms for the State and RD Group to set up a Joint Venture (JV) company to initially fish and process all the catch in a new possible cannery within the Pacific Maritime Industrial Zone (PMIZ) in Madang as a SEZ. “We will work together with the State Negotiation Team to come up with an agreement that suit both parties and I’d like to hope that the conclusion of three months, both parties through the State Negotiation Team will arrive at an agreement that we are both happy with.” Minister Maru later thanked Prime Minister (PM) James Marape for the support for this major project that has eventually resulted in the signing of the MoU between the State and RD Group. “This is about taking back PNG, this is about creating 50, 000 jobs, this is about processing all our fish on shore, and maximizing the benefits for our country.” The MOU was signed between the Ministry of International Trade and Investments (MITI), Kumul Consolidated Holdings (KCH), National Fisheries Authority (NFA), and the RD Group.