Papua New Guinea and the United Arab Emirates reached an understanding to strengthening and deepening relations during the bilateral meeting between the Minister for Forests Hon. Walter Schnaubelt and the UAE Minister for State for International Cooperation and Director General of World Expo2020 Her Excellency Reem Ephraim Al Hashimy in Dubai on 11 October 2021. The two Ministers met at the end of the thematic week on climate and biodiversity and before the departure of Minister Schnaubelt. Minister Schnaubelt had a successful week of connecting with stakeholders on investment opportunities in Papua New Guinea as well as outlining the country’s desire to live in balance with its rainforest and investing in conservation and renewable energy options. The two leaders noted that the impact of climate change is seen and felt around the World and unless the international communities assist each other to implement the Paris Agreement through their respective Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the world would be heading towards self-destruction. Minister Schnaubelt said Papua New Guinea has set very ambitious greenhouse emission reduction and forest management plans and need partners to assist in delivering on these objectives in the collective interest of the global community. He said these targets includes the management and conservation of our forest, including planting of 800,000 hectares of trees through afforestation and reforestation as well as power production of 78%, using renewable energy sources. “These are ambitious targets and are conditional on the financial and technical support of international partners. Accordingly, we are looking at bilateral partnerships with like-minded emerging economies like the UAE to assist us in a long-term partnership arrangement to achieve these objectives in a mutually beneficial way”, Minister Schaubelt said. He said they exchanged views on working together by forging a long term relationship in not only forest and conservation management issues but also on institutional capacity building, research, digital infrastructure and data base management and the use of forestry resources for the production of green or hydrogen gas (carbon dioxide and hydrogen capture) Caption: Forest Minister Hon. Walter Schnaubelt (left) meeting with UAE Minister for State for International Cooperation and Director General of World Expo2020 Her Excellency Reem Ephraim Al Hashimy. Photo: Courtesy of PNG Expo2020 Media.