Papua New Guinea keen to upgrade ties with Vietnam

At a reception for Thanh, Dadae expressed his deep admiration for President Ho Chi Minh and Vietnam's outstanding socio-economic development achievements over the past decades.

He affirmed that Papua New Guinea greatly appreciated Vietnam’s external policy as well as its role and position in the Indo-Pacific region and the international arena. The Governor-General expressed his wish that both nations will upgrade their relations with a special focus on economic cooperation and climate change response.

He suggested the two governments exchange experiences in building an independent and self-reliant economy and international integration.

The Governor-General also expressed his wish to visit Vietnam when the two countries celebrate the 35th anniversary of the establishment of their diplomatic relations in 2024. On this occasion, Thanh paid courtesy visits to some leaders of Papua New Guinea.

Meeting with Thanh, Acting Prime Minister John Ross stressed that the Government of Papua New Guinea advocates expanding its relations with Vietnam. The country is considering opening diplomatic and trade representative offices in Hanoi soon, and is ready to exchange delegations with Vietnam at all levels, he said.

Rosso said the country will consider facilitating the granting of citizenship to Vietnamese nationals who wish to make long-term contributions to Papua New Guinea.

The ambassador also had a meeting with Minister for International Trade and Investment Richard Maru, who said he is planning to visit Vietnam this year to define practical cooperation areas and seek trade exchange opportunities between the two nations in the time ahead.

At these meetings, Thanh congratulated Papua New Guinea on its socio-economic achievements, especially important changes recognised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) as well as key economic and infrastructure projects that the country is planning to carry out.

The Vietnamese diplomat hailed the results of cooperation between the two countries over the past 30 years and thanked Papua New Guinea for presenting COVID-19 vaccines to Vietnam in September 2021.

Thanh suggested the two sides review and speed up the implementation of a Memorandum of Understanding on fishery cooperation signed in 2017, and at the same time accelerate the negotiation of cooperation agreements in potential fields.

During his visit to Port Moresby, Thanh met with more than 60 overseas Vietnamese who are living and working in Papua New Guinea.