Written by Kirsty Needham
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Papua New Guinea Prime Minister james marape The prime minister told Australia's parliament on Thursday that his country's economic growth would make Australia more secure, adding that nothing would happen between the two neighbors.
Mr Marape will be the first Pacific Island leader to address Parliament in Canberra as Australia competes with China for influence and security ties in the region.
Mr Marape told Australian MPs that Papua New Guinea needed to become a self-sustaining economy.
“A stronger Papua New Guinea economically means a stronger and safer Australia and the Pacific,” he said in a televised address.
“In a world where there are many countries and many relationships, nothing can come between our two countries because we are a family,” he added.
prime minister of australia Anthony Albanese He highlighted the historical and geographical proximity between the two countries, and Australia's support for Papua New Guinea's roads, port upgrades, clean energy and hospitals, and new undersea communications cables.
He said Australia wanted to secure PNG's future as a “key partner”.
Australia is the largest donor to its northern neighbour, signing a security agreement covering security and defence, in December. Both countries consider China a major trading partner.
Earlier, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong told reporters that Mr Marape's speech to parliament showed Australia wanted to expand its involvement in the Pacific.
“We know that China is a great power that advocates its own interests. What we are doing is re-emphasizing the importance of our role and engagement in the Pacific family,” Wong said. Stated.
Mr Marape said on Thursday that the Albanons would implement a A$200 million ($131 million) security and policing agreement after riots in Papua New Guinea's capital Port Moresby in January left people dead during a police strike. We request progress in negotiations with the government.
PNG on Wednesday appointed four foreign judges, including several from the Federal Court of Australia, to strengthen its court system. Around 50 police officers from Australia and other Commonwealth countries will also be employed by PNG to fill vacancies in senior police roles.
Foreign Minister Justin Tkachenko told Reuters last week that Papua New Guinea had received an offer from China to help its police with training, equipment and surveillance technology, but no decisions had been made. He told the ABC on Wednesday that PNG had no intention of moving forward with a security agreement with China.
($1 = 1.5326 Australian Dollar)
(Reporting by Kirsty Needham; Editing by Stephen Coates)
