Foreign investment helps bring more resources and activity to the domestic market.
“It creates more job opportunities and is essential for economic growth,” said Australian High Commissioner, Bruce Davis, during the 35th Australia Papua New Guinea Business Forum & Trade Expo on June 17th.
“In Australia, trade and foreign investment has helped drive over 30 years of uninterrupted economic growth. One in five jobs in Australia exist because of our trade activities. Trade and foreign investment bring new skills and knowledge and is an important source of funding for technology and innovation enterprises.
“At the heart of our bilateral relationship is a strong economic partnership. Australian investment in Papua New Guinea has helped drive and diversify the Papua New Guinea economy through skills sharing, knowledge transfer and the provision of capital for growth and expansion.
“In support of Papua New Guinea’s objectives for economic growth, we are investing in key economic infrastructure. This investment has the potential to transform Papua New Guinea; maximising the opportunity of the big exporting resource projects, helping build and transform the country’s SME sector, improving health and education outcomes, and laying the foundations upon which the long-term sustainability of the economy will grow.”
Davis further said one of Australia’s most significant commitments to growth enabling infrastructure is the Papua New Guinea Electrification Partnership, first announced at APEC 2018.
“Led by the Government of Papua New Guinea and involving, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United States, we are working together to support Papua New Guinea to achieve its objective of connecting 70 percent of the population to electricity by 2030.
“Progress towards this objective requires large scale investment in key nation-building infrastructure by both the public and private sectors.
“We have already started work to translate this commitment into concrete projects that will change the lives of communities across the country.”
The PNG Investment Week consists of four separate conferences in the series:
- 35th Australia PNG Business Forum and Trade Expo which is scheduled from 16th – 18th June, followed by
- 2nd Speakers Investment Summit on 19th June, the
- PNG European Union Investment Conference on 20th June and the final conference,
- 15th UN ESCAP Asia Pacific Business Forum scheduled for 21st June, 2019.
The theme for the Forum this year is ‘The Road Ahead: Optimising Infinite Opportunities’.