The Prime Minister, who is also the Minister Responsible for APEC, has congratulated the Forest Minister for successfully hosting the first APEC meeting ever held in Papua New Guinea.
In releasing the ‘Eda Statement’ in Port Moresby last week, the Third APEC Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Forestry agreed on a range of measures that will strengthen the forestry sector in Papua New Guinea and around the Asia-Pacific.
"Ministers committed to work to increase forest cover in the region by at least 20 million hectares of all types of forests by 2020,” PM O’Neill said following the meeting.
“To reach this target will require ongoing cooperation between APEC member economies, as well as capacity building and efforts to prevent the sale of illegally harvested timber.
“Papua New Guinea and other APEC economies will work with the Asia-Pacific Network for Sustainable Forest Management and Rehabilitation to strengthen regional trade in sustainable forestry products.
“I congratulate Papua New Guinea’s Forest Minister Douglas Tomuriesa for his guidance of the Ministerial meeting and delivering positive outcomes for the region.”
The Prime Minister said the first APEC Ministerial Meeting to be held in Papua New Guinea is an example of what the nation can expect from subsequent APEC meetings leading up to 2018.
“APEC is an important forum for Papua New Guinea to advance trade, business and investment across a range of sectors that are important to our economy for many years to come.
“We will continue to expand our engagement in APEC at a policy level while also preparing to host major events including the APEC Leaders’ Summit in November 2018.
“I expect Papua New Guinea will chair and co-chair more APEC committees and fora in the coming years and take greater leadership role in these sectoral areas.
“At the logistics level I expect the Forestry Ministers’ Meeting last week to be an example of how our APEC meetings will be run into the future.
“APEC events will be effectively managed to provide a forum where successful policy outcomes can be developed, while at the same time causing minimal disruptions for people in the host cities around the nation.”
The next APEC meetings to be held in Papua New Guinea will be the APEC Business Advisory Council Meeting and the Transportation Working Group, both in 2016.
The Third APEC Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Forestry was held in Port Moresby from 27 to 29 October.