The Hon. Stephen Smith MP, Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs
Australian Commonwealth Coat of Arms

The Hon. Stephen Smith mp

Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs

Media Release

8 June, 2009

19th Australia-Papua New Guinea Ministerial Forum

The 19th Australia- Papua New Guinea Ministerial Forum will take place in Brisbane on Wednesday 10 June, with the official reception and dinner to be held on Tuesday 9 June.

I will co-chair the Forum with my Papua New Guinea Foreign Ministerial counterpart, Mr Sam Abal MP.

This meeting follows on from the highly successful 18th Ministerial Forum held in Madang, Papua New Guinea in April last year.

Nine Australian Ministers and two Parliamentary Secretaries will be in the Australian delegation, demonstrating the importance that the Government places on Australia's bilateral relationship with Papua New Guinea. Australia's relationship with Papua New Guinea is of vital importance to both countries.

Stephen Smith, Co-Chair and Minister for Foreign Affairs
Simon Crean, Minister for Trade
Senator Chris Evans, Minister for Immigration and Citizenship
Senator Penny Wong, Minister for Climate Change and Water
Peter Garrett, Minister for Environment, Heritage and the Arts
Tony Burke, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
Martin Ferguson, Minister for Resources & Energy & Tourism
Mike Kelly, Parliamentary Secretary for Defence
Senator Nick Sherry, Assistant Treasurer
Duncan Kerr, Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs
Bob McMullan, Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance

The Ministerial Forum is the primary opportunity for regular ministerial level engagement on issues of shared importance to Australia and Papua New Guinea.

At this year's Forum, we will discuss a wide range of key bilateral issues including our Partnership for Development, the Kokoda Track and climate change.

Papua New Guinea plays an important leadership role in the Pacific region, so we will take the opportunity to discuss a number of regional issues, including the forthcoming Pacific Islands Forum Leadership meeting in Cairns in August this year.

In addition, we will discuss important economic issues at a time when the global recession is creating new challenges for governments throughout the world.

We will also have the opportunity to engage closely with business and industry representatives involved in the bilateral trade and investment relationship.

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