Australia-PNG LNG Ministerial Meeting
Media release
1 July 2010
Today I was pleased to co-chair, with the Hon Arthur Somare, Papua New Guinea's Minister for Public Enterprises, the first meeting of the Australia-Papua New Guinea Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Ministerial Subcommittee in Melbourne.
I was joined by my colleague Nick Sherry, Assistant Treasurer, and a Papua New Guinea delegation, including the Minister for National Planning and Monitoring, Paul Tiensten and the Minister for Commerce and Industry, Gabriel Kapris.
Ministers reviewed progress on commitments made under the Joint Understanding between Papua New Guinea and Australia on further cooperation on the PNG LNG Project.
The Joint Understanding sets out Papua New Guinea's plans to develop, with Australian assistance, sovereign wealth funds to effectively and transparently manage LNG project revenues.
The LNG project is vital to Papua New Guinea's economic well-being, with the potential to put Papua New Guinea on a sustainable economic growth path.
Australia is working closely with Papua New Guinea, providing technical and advisory support as Papua New Guinea establishes sovereign wealth funds. Australia is in a particularly good position to assist Papua New Guinea using our recent experience with the Future and Nation-building Funds.
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