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12th Australia-Papua New Guinea Ministerial
Forum
I will be attending the 12th Australia-Papua
New Guinea Ministerial Forum in Port Moresby on 10 March 2000.
The annual Forum will be an important opportunity
for Australia to reaffirm its strong commitment to support the
social and economic development of Papua New Guinea.
As the main bilateral event for the calendar
year, this year's Forum will focus on:
- progress in the implementation of Papua New
Guinea's financial and economic reform program, including its
plans to privatise a number of key government agencies;
- Papua New Guinea's efforts, with Australia's
support, to stabilise the economy after the financial difficulties
experienced over the past few years;
- the maintenance of an attractive investment
climate and progress in advancing arrangements for the Papua
New Guinea-Queensland gas pipeline;
- developments in reaching a settlement to
the Bougainville dispute;
- progress in the introduction of the New Defence
Partnership;
- cooperation in the Torres Strait and the
security of the border against illegal entry; and
- cooperation in a wide range of environmental
issues.
I welcome the participation of business representatives
from Australia and Papua New Guinea in the Forum. This will
allow the the private sector to have significant input into the
official dialogue between the two countries.
I will lead the Australian delegation which
will include Mr John Moore (Minister for Defence), Senator Robert
Hill (Minister for the Environment and Heritage), Senator Nick
Minchin (Minister for Industry, Science and Resources), Senator
Amanda Vanstone (Minister for Justice and Customs) and Senator
Rod Kemp (Assistant Treasurer).
The Papua New Guinea delegation will be led
by Sir John Kaputin (Minister for Foreign Affairs) who will be
joined by Sir Michael Somare (Minister for Bougainville Affairs
and Mining), Mr Michael Nali (Minister for Trade and Industry),
Mr Moi Avei (Minister for Planning and Implementation), Mr Muki
Taranupi (Minister for Defence), Mr Herowa Agiwa (Minister for
Environment and Conservation), Mr Mathias Karani (Minister for
Police), Mr Tom Tomscoll (Minister for Petroleum and Energy)
and Mr Kilroy Genia (Minister for Justice).
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