Foreign Minister Rimbink Pato

This was the statement by Foreign Minister Rimbink Pato, while speaking at the Bali Process Government and Business Forum in Perth, Australia, last week.

He said PNG has committed to advancing measures to stop human trafficking and modern-day slavery in the APEC Region.

“We are continuing to step up border control protection measures that will detect further illegal activities.

“Be it modern-day slavery in the fisheries sector, or the exploration of people in the sex trade, and other instances of forced labour, Papua New Guinea takes this issue very seriously.”

He said delays in the processing of payments have caused inconvenience and have been most unfortunate, but progress is being made to prevent a reoccurrence in the future.

“The decision to directly fund foreign missions from Treasury has faced delays in initial implementation but will have long term benefits when problems are resolved,” Minister Pato said.