I am pleased to announce that the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, the Honourable James Marape MP, will visit Australia from 21 to 26 July as a Guest of Government.
Reflecting the closeness of our partnership, Prime Minister Marape will be the first Guest-of-Government visitor to Australia since the federal election. The bond between Australia and Papua New Guinea is unique and enduring, based on the personal, professional and historical ties between our peoples.
The people of Papua New Guinea are part of our Pacific family - our wantok, our vuvale, our whanau.
This important visit will provide an opportunity for Australia and PNG to enhance this partnership through deeper economic and security cooperation, as well as strengthened links between our communities. Discussions will focus on opportunities to boost trade and investment, ways to address shared regional challenges, and strengthening our bilateral cooperation on labour mobility, defence and security.
Australia is committed to stepping up our engagement with Papua New Guinea and the Pacific more broadly in support of a region that prospers while being safe and peaceful, with each sovereign country in charge of their own futures.
Prime Minister Marape will be accompanied by Mrs Rachael Marape and several ministers.
