The Foreign Affairs policy is ‘Friend to all, enemy to none’.
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Soroi Eoe made this clear in parliament on October 16th.
He was asked that simple and significant question by member for Rabaul Dr Allan Marat.
Dr Marat said the policy had changed overtime that is was important they stick to one.
“The Foreign Policy was ‘Friend to all, enemy to none’. This changed when new government came in. It was ‘selective engagement’, and then ‘Look North’. When Peter O’Neill came into power, it was ‘PNG connect’. After the Prime Minister’s Independence speech, he said it was ‘friend to all, enemy to none’. So which one is our Foreign Affairs Policy?”
Minister Eoe said the policy changes were done basically for economic reasoning.
“’Friends to all, enemy to none’ is the Foreign Affairs policy because of what is transpiring across the border. It was done to protect the interest of 8.9 million people of Papua New Guinea. This policy will be maintained unless the government decides otherwise.”
Prime Minister James Marape also made a similar response in last week’s session when asked what PNG was doing about the West Papua unrest.
“Mr Speaker, the question in relation to what is our foreign policy; our government will not reinvent the wheel. And as far as foreign policies are concerned, we maintain the very good policy anchored in 1975, that we are friends to all and enemies to none. That is the generic foreign policy we have,” stated the PM.