PNG invites Island leaders to APEC 2018
Prime Minister Peter O’Neill advised all Pacific Island leaders at the 48th Pacific Island Forum in Apia, Samoa that the Government will officially send out an invite to each and every one of the leaders.
Papua New Guinea is hosting APEC 2018, a forum of 21 countries that accounts for half of global trade.
“When we host the APEC Summit, I am extending an invitation to each of our island members of the forum to join us,”O’Neill said.
“Pacific Island Leaders will have the opportunity to have an informal meeting with APEC Leaders as part of the APEC Summit agenda.
“I will be inviting each one of you to participate in APEC in 2018, the first time this very important forum will be held in a Pacific Island Nation,” O’Neill told the leaders.
The APEC Leaders’ Summit, in Port Moresby in November next year, will bring together the presidents and prime ministers of countries such as the United States, China, Russia, Canada, Singapore and Japan.
While forum members Australia and New Zealand are Members of APEC and have hosted summits before, Papua New Guinea is the only Pacific Island nation which is also a member of APEC.
“As a developing nation, APEC also opens enormous opportunities for capacity building and technical co-operation,” O’Neill said.
The Pacific Islands Forum is currently one of three official observers – the others being ASEAN and the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council.
“Being a Pacific Island nation, we would like to see greater co-operation and connectivity between APEC and Pacific Islands forum members,” he said.
SOURCE: PACNEWS
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