JULY 14 2022
Pacific Islands Forum Chair and Host, Fijian Prime Minister Hon. Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, and other members of this esteemed group.
I am honored to be here today representing my people of Papua New Guinea at this august forum in its 51st year of existence.
On this momentous occassion, let us pause to remember pioneer leaders of the PIF such as the late Sir Kamisese Mara, Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare, Solomon Mamaloni, Walter Lini and many others scattered over our wide Pacific Ocean.
The PIF is very much relevant in this day and age and all our current 16 members stand equal.
It must be representative of our unity as a family of nations.
This togetherness gives us the muscle to overcome the many challenges we face in the contemporary Pacific such as climate change, economic issues, and theft of our resources such as those in the sea, to name a few.
Our oceans hold 60 per cent of the world’s tuna resources, and if we stand together, we can ensure that we get the best deal for our countries.
The PIF must be the instrument to unite all of our countries with one voice. That unity must prevail under all circumstances.
Our organisation must be representative of all our diversity. No voice is too small, no voice is too big, all of us are equal.
Leadership within the PIF must be rotated among all regions of the Pacific and recognise the fact that we are all equal.
I want to also speak of the bigger forces at play within our region through geo-politics.
Papua New Guinea’s foreign policy remains that we are friends to all and enemies to none. With no good reasons, someone else’s enemy is not my enemy. And our intrinsic peaceful Pacific ways must pacify all forces and interests in our region.
In this day and age, foreign relationships is not just historical or philosophical, but more to do with trade and commerce for our national economies.
There is a need for greater trade and commerce not just among ourselves within PIF, but outside our region too, hence, the need to sustain our economies is very much a reality.
Look at the example of Nauru, for instance. It was once very rich from phosphate with one of the highest GDP per capita in the world, however, this is so different today.
That should not be the case in a Pacific region of abundance in maritime and land resources. We in the Pacific must use this unity of nations to push for our collective economic well being to develop and sustain our countries.
For instance, in my own PNG, we do not want to compromise relationships with our fellow APEC member countries because those trade relationships keep our economy functional.
The Pacific is and must be a friendly region to all, especially those that sincerely respect our national and Pacific interests.
And I point to one of our greater interests being our national economic security needs.
An economically strong nation in the Pacific contributes to a safe and secure region. And to get there for us in the Pacific, I propose the following:
•A step up of internal trade and commerce between our nations;
•Our friendly nations must assist more in areas of commerce and trade and not just aids and grants;
•Ensure our exposure to climate change and other globally-induced hardships must be collectively addressed and advocated by PIF;
•PIF must be contemporary whilst maintaining our core historical values; and
•Our nations must have person_ to-person, business-to-business relationships too and not just government-to-government.
We in PIF are now outlaying a 2050 strategy, and chief outcome of this strategy must be the economic well being of our people and our nations. In the life of this 2050 strategy, we must become strong and robust economies.
Our traditional and genuine partners need to look within themselves if they can come in better, and instead of giving us free handouts, they must help us to be self-sustaining.
On this note, I thank new Australian Prime Minister, Hon. Anthony Albanese, for his intention to bring in more Pacific islanders to work in Australia and also offer more training.
I also commend Australia for bringing back the Climate Change Mitigation Fund to the Pacific. I appeal to other industrialised nations to follow suit and help small island countries affected by climate change.
My proposal to PIF is to rally for international funds, especially from big industrialised nations, who are contributing to climate change through carbon emissions.
Bring these funds into small island nations like Tuvalu, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Niue, Tokelau and others. I further propose strongly that instead of talking about victims of climate changes resettling elsewhere, we should use technology and money to assist in land reclamation, ensuring our small island states and communities live in their island of birth.
My further recommendation to Australia, the biggest nation in the Pacific, is to open up credit facilities for smaller island nations to finance our development needs as well as to buy more of our produce.
On this note, let me conclude by appreciating Fiji and the leadership of our host and chairman of our PIF Prime Minister Hon.Bainiramara. I also thank all of you sister and brother leaders for coming together in such tough times.
Unity is important. The strength of our combined membership allows us to overcome our local challenges much better, because here in the Pacific, we are and we must be our sisters and brothers keeper. I want to reach out to our Micronesian family that we are better, stronger and secure together. To the rest of us, let us always exercise our Christian principle of doing unto others what we want them to us.
God bless PIF, God bless our people and May God bless you all.
