This week, we will travel to Papua New Guinea to attend the 30th Australia-Papua New Guinea Ministerial Forum.
As neighbours, friends and equals, the relationship between Australia and Papua New Guinea is more important than ever.
The Ministerial Forum is an opportunity for Ministers from a range of key policy areas to advance our partnership and our shared priorities. This includes our economic relationship, strategic cooperation for security and stability, and development.
The Forum will be co-chaired by Minister Wong and Papua New Guinea Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon Justin Tkatchenko BEM OL - also representing Australia will be:
- The Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP, Attorney-General, Cabinet Secretary
- Senator the Hon Murray Watt, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Minister for Emergency Management
- The Hon Clare O'Neil MP, Minister for Home Affairs, Minister for Cyber Security
- Senator the Hon Tim Ayres, Assistant Minister for Trade, Assistant Minister for Manufacturing.
The delegation will also engage with Australian and Papua New Guinea businesses through the Annual Australia-Papua New Guinea Business Dialogue.
The Ministerial Forum builds on the commitments from the Annual Leaders' Dialogue between Prime Minister Albanese and Prime Minister Marape in February, and the signing of the landmark Bilateral Security Agreement in December 2023.
Quotes attributable to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, the Hon Richard Marles MP:
"Papua New Guinea is one of our closest and most important defence partners, and is home to our largest Defence Cooperation Program.
"Australia and Papua New Guinea's defence partnership reflects 50 years of our defence personnel training, exercising and working side by side.
"I am delighted to return to Papua New Guinea to discuss how we can work even more closely together to address the security and defence challenges facing our region."
Quotes attributable to Minister for Foreign Affairs, Senator the Hon Penny Wong:
"Australia and Papua New Guinea's relationship is based on our common history, our close geography and our shared values.
"I look forward to meeting again with my counterpart Minister Tkatchenko and other Ministers as we work to ensure a peaceful, stable and prosperous Pacific.
"We are supporting Papua New Guinea in its response to the landslide in Enga Province, just as Papua New Guinea has supported Australia in times of need."
Quotes attributable to Minister for International Development and the Pacific, the Hon Pat Conroy MP:
"Australia's relationship with Papua New Guinea is profoundly important and built on a strong foundation of friendship and respect.
"We are part of a Pacific family, and as the collective response to the tragedy in Enga has shown, in times of trouble Australia will be there just as PNG was there for us during the Black Summer bushfires.
"As our past unites us, so too does our future, built on deep economic and security cooperation. These connections matter - the more we relate to each other, the more safe, stable and prosperous our region will be."
