People’s Republic of China

Foreign Affairs Minister Justin Tkatchenko in a meeting with the Chinese Ambassador H. E. Zeng Fanhua on Thursday 25 January, said the government appreciates the good relations with China over recent years, and that he is happy to facilitate and progress bilateral agreements to enable the delivery of major projects.

Minister Tkatchenko expressed that the challenge will be, following the signing of these agreements, the implementation phase on the part of other state agencies. He said Foreign Affairs would work to facilitate movement and progress.

Although PNG is not a member to the BFA, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Justin Tkatchenko, was invited as a special guest by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and State Counselor of the People’s Republic of China, His Excellency Qin Gang, to attend the Forum as well as a convening a bilateral meeting between the two Foreign Ministers.

With an aim to pool resources for the development of Asia and the world, the annual development event is organized to promote economic integration in Asia and its partner countries around the world.

The official hand-over take-over ceremony was held on Monday, January 9^th, at the WPU campus in Ialibu, Southern Highlands Province.

The People’s Republic of China was represented by the Chinese Ambassador to PNG, Ambassador Zeng Fanhua, whilst the Minister for Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology (HERST), Don Polye, represented the Government of PNG.

The money was handed over to Forum’s Secretary General, Dame Meg Taylor last week.

During the handover, the SG thanked China for their ongoing support through the fund and strong relationship between China and Pacific.

“I’d particularly like to thank you for the ongoing support to the Pacific Trade and Invest (PTI China) office in Beijing. The trade relationships we have with China are very important and the work of this office continues to help in their development,” she said.

Ambassador Xue Bing  replaces Ambassador Li Ruiyou.

Papua New Guinea and the People’s Republic of China formalised diplomatic relations 41 years ago, on 12 October 1976.

Governor-General Dadae said: “The bilateral ties between our two countries remain friendly and are steadily increasing.”

He assured Ambassador Xi of the PNG Government support during his tenure.

South Korea has reported 24 cases of the disease since diagnosing the country's first MERS illness last month in a man who had traveled to Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries.

Most of South Korea's cases have had connections to the first patient - either medical staff who treated him or patients who stayed near him at the hospital before he was diagnosed and isolated, and their family members.

The vessel capsized in the storm Monday night with 458 people aboard, touching off a frantic rescue effort. At least 15 people were brought to safety, including three pulled from the overturned hull Tuesday, and five people were confirmed dead.

The vessel was carrying mostly elderly tourists from Nanjing to the southwestern city of Chongqing when it overturned in China's Hubei Province.