The Opposition yesterday (Sept 05) joined the trade dispute PNG and Fiji have been engaged in over a ban the latter has placed on tinned Ox and Palm products.
Its leader Don Polye described the row as an ‘embarrassment for PNG’.
“The Prime Minister and his Trade Minister should leave the matter with the Foreign Affairs Minister, whose department has the capacity and systematic memory to deal with it within the protocols of conventions and agreements.
“It should have easily been dealt with amicably without any complications through the diplomatic channels,” said Polye.
He said PNG is a ‘big brother’ among the Melanesian countries, adding it lodging a trade row with Fiji only reflected naivety and incompetency.
“I am calling on the Prime Minister to task the Foreign Affairs minister to handle it as it falls within his ambit,” he said.
Polye, a former foreign affairs minister, likened PNG’s plan to take retaliatory actions against Fiji’s exports as childish and a knee-jerk reaction.
There are better ways to address the issue, says the Opposition Leader.