Diplomatic Briefing
Your exclusive news aggregator handpicked daily!Archive for Papua New Guinea
Newsline: Pacific top level diplomacy to go ahead in Papua without U.S. President
Pacific island leaders will meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a high-level U.S. delegation in Papua New Guinea on Monday, Fijian officials said, without U.S. President Joe Biden who cancelled his attendance at the talks. Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka confirmed the talks would go ahead after Biden pulled out of the visit to Papua New Guinea due to debt ceiling negotiations in Washington, a move seen by some as a blow to U.S. diplomacy in the region. Biden had been expected to meet with 18 leaders from the region’s main bloc, the Pacific Islands Forum, and sign a defence cooperation agreement with PNG on Monday. PNG Prime Minister James Marape is expected to announce details of the defence pact with the United States on Thursday, his office told Reuters. Fiji said Pacific leaders would hold discussions with Modi on regional cooperation. They would also meet later on Monday with a U.S. delegation for talks on “areas of cooperation and challenges critical to the region and the U.S.” “The meeting demonstrates the U.S. and Pacific’s deep historical and people-to-people ties,” Rabuka’s office said in a statement, adding climate change, protecting maritime resources and economic growth were priorities. (https://neuters.de/world/pacific-meetings-defence-pact-go-ahead-papua-without-biden-2023-05-18/) The chairman of the Pacific Islands Forum, Cook Islands Prime Minister Mark Brown, said the regional meeting had originally been organised between the Pacific countries and India, and his plans to travel to PNG were unchanged.
Newsline: US Embassy official robbed at police roadblock in Papua New Guinea
A US Embassy official has been robbed at gunpoint in Port Moresby after being stopped at a police roadblock. Several sources have told the ABC the male official was driving home on Friday night after having dinner at the popular Harbourside restaurant precinct when he was stopped at a police roadblock a short distance away. A man in civilian clothes, who was with the police, got into the car, produced a pistol and took the American’s phone and watch. The official was then forced to drive to an ATM and withdraw cash from his bank account. He was able to get away when the armed robber got out of the car while it was parked near a nightclub in the CBD. The victim was left traumatised by the ordeal but is not believed to have sustained any significant physical injuries. The ABC has been told the US Embassy has put a nightly curfew in place for its staff following the robbery. One source said the official’s car did not have a duress alarm, which is a common security feature in diplomatic vehicles in Port Moresby.
Newsline: Chinese Embassy says four nationals killed in Papua New Guinea
Four Chinese have been killed in a bread shop in Papua New Guinea’s capital city of Port Moresby, the Chinese Embassy in Papua New Guinea confirmed Wednesday. “The three men and a woman were in a bread shop when they were killed at around 9 p.m. local time on Monday,” the Chinese Embassy officials told Xinhua. They added that the victims are all Shanghaineses. Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Peter O’Neill on Wednesday condemned the killing in a statement, calling the attack “brutal and cowardly”. In 2009, attacks against Chinese businesses in the country left two people dead.
Newsline: US Embassy urges PNG to adhere to constitution
The United States Embassy in Papua New Guinea is calling on the country’s politicians to respect the constitution and uphold democratic institutions. In a statement, the Embassy says recent political developments underscore the need for the 2012 national elections to move forward as scheduled. It says it hopes parliament’s recommendation that states of emergency be declared in parts of the country will not disrupt the election campaign or the voting process. The Embassy says the vote is a unique opportunity for Papua New Guineans to shape their country’s future at a critical time in the nation’s history.
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