Papua New Guinea and the State of Israel will sign an historical agreement to consolidate cooperation and boost development in the agriculture sector later this year.
Minister for Agriculture, Aiye Tambua, said this will be a historical, and first ever formal agreement to be signed between the two countries to target technical training for young Papua New Guinean graduates in agriculture, research and related fields.
The agreement will also capture the field of research in all potential agriculture related disciplines with the department and especially the National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI).
He said this following a meeting with the Israeli Ambassador to Papua New Guinea and Pacific Island States Roi Rosenblit when the envoy paid a courtesy call to his office.
“This is in order to benefit from such programs offered to developing countries like PNG under Israel’s Agency for International Development Co-operation – MASHAV which is a division of their Foreign Affairs Ministry,” said minister Tambua.
“This window of opportunity is refreshing for PNG especially under the Marape Government’s focus on the agriculture sector to be the main source for the country’s GDP with a target of K30 billion by the year 2030.
“Our discussions touched on professional training programs, on-the-spot training programs and co-operation in agriculture research and development which we can entrust NARI and similar institutions to be involved given Israel’s extensive knowledge and technical expertise in these areas,” Tambua said.
Minister Tambu added that the Department of Agriculture & Livestock’s technical teams will commence discussions on a proposed MoU to be approved by the government before the tentative November signing.