PNG Prime Minister James Marape met with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of United States International Development Finance Corporation on the margins of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit as he ended his meetings with members of the American business community. The United States Development Finance Corporation (DFC), headed by CEO Scott Nathan, is America’s development finance institution that funds private sector-based projects and businesses right across the world. During the meet, the DFC CEO laid out the availability of DFC in financing businesses and developers of the private sector in countries interested in bettering themselves and their communities. Prime Minister Marape was particularly interested in finding out about financing in the energy/power supply space, as well as in Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries areas, and welcomed DFC’s presence in PNG. Already the agency has a small project in PNG which is in partnership with Mi Bank and Mr Nathan said DFC was looking forward to seeing this expand further. The CEO highlighted the US President, Joe Biden’s move to increase the US’s visibility in PNG & the greater Pacific Region, through business partnerships, saying that PNG is an ideal destination for investment. DFC scope covers Infrastructure, Energy, MSMEs, women’s economic empowerment, Agriculture, Health care, Forestry, Fisheries and other nature-based solutions. DFC also operates within a framework that promotes high standards through the observation of labour rights, and environment and social impacts. DFC only deals in the private sector, business and entrepreneurship development according to its charter, and stays away from government projects, unless the project is operated as an independent business away from government handling. This meeting with the Prime Minister is a follow-up to an initial meeting DFC had with Pacific Island Forum leaders when PM Marape and his counterparts were in Washington DC to meet with President Biden for the first US-PIF summit a year ago. PM Marape is now putting the agency in touch with the relevant ministries and arms of government to progress this further. Some big capital investment projects DFC has successfully funded in the recent past include the assistance to Australia in the financing of Telstra’s purchase of Digicel assets, a USD553 million port development in Sri Lanka (a private-public partnership project), and a USD24 million forestry project in Africa.