The PNG Government was queried over the United Nations vote against Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Nuku MP Joseph Sungi brought up the matter today in parliament, 2 months after the vote was cast during the emergency United Nations General Meeting was called up in New York.
“Can you tell the population of this country, why this country has voted against the very nation we believe in?”
Foreign Affairs Minister Rimbink Pato expressed that it was a decision that was based on professional advice.
Pato, who earlier on in a statement stated that the decision was made in the name of world peace, stressed that it was not made in the context of Christianity, which is a common value shared by both PNG and Israel.
“The decision to vote in the way we did was not taken lightly; it was based on professional advice which was received from our mission in New York.
“And it was not a decision based on Christian principles, which is in accordance to our foreign policy that is ‘to become friends to all enemies to none’.
“And we have to strategise to optimise the best gains in terms of strategy for our nation.
“We need to look at the legal decision of the UN that has remained since 1967 that is, Israel must live in peace with the world,” said Pato.
He pointed out that the world is about peace, prosperity and security.
“The Bible itself says love your neighbour as yourself.
“And so the Israelites and the Palestinians they are neighbours, they are relatives, they live in a volatile world in the Middle East.
“And the decision we took was not a vote against Israel.
“Not at all, if you think that it was a vote against Israel then you have been misled.”
He said it was a vote against the United States of America, adding that the position PNG took was the same position taken by some of the closest allies of America.
“This Included Great Britain, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Ireland, Japan, France, Finland and two thirds of the whole world.”