Prime Minister James Marape met with the Prime Minister of Japan, Fumio Kishida, before attending the state funeral of Japan’s former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
PM Marape was accompanied by International Trade and Investment Minister, Richard Maru and East Sepik Governor, Allan Bird.
“Today was just a short, one-day visit to Japan for me, but very important in consolidating relations between our two countries,”
“There are 191 world leaders here today to attend the State Funeral of the late Shinzo Abe, and for PNG to have been accorded the honour of meeting Japanese Prime Minister Kishida is very special,” the PM said.
The Prime Minister also met with executives of Japan’s major energy companies with discussions centred around the LNG project and downstream processing which the Government is pushing for PNG to be more active in.
“Prime Minister Kishida, during our discussions, highlighted Japan’s need for energy security as well as the need for trade between our two countries to grow.”
Japan through its JX Nippon Oil and Gas Company is a joint venture with Nippon PNG LNG, which has interests in the PNG LNG Project. Since the 1st shipment, PNG has supplied approximately a 7.9million tonnes of liquefied natural gas every year to the world market, and Japan is one country that PNG supplies.
Japan is also involved in other major projects like the K692million Nadzab Airport Redevelopment Project which is currently in its construction phase. The project is captured under Japan’s Economic Corporation program which aims to improve PNG’s economy and broaden internationalization.
“Prime Minister Kishida highlighted the fact that PNG is an important bilateral partner of Japan,” said Marape.
Prime Minister Marape concluded his meeting by assuring the Japanese Prime Minister that outstanding trade treaties between the two countries will resume and PNG will continue to assist Japan where necessary, especially in its energy security needs.
The Prime Minister left for the United States where he will attend the Pacific Islands Summit in Washington DC.
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