Port Moresby, Monday 5 May 2025 – Prime Minister Hon. James Marape today announced that the National Executive Council (NEC) has approved the appointment of Ms. Seline Leo-Lohia as the Trade Commission of Papua New Guinea to the Republic of Indonesia.
Prime Minister Marape said this was a very strategic appointment. “Papua New Guinea and Indonesia are close neighbors but are yet to fully explore the possibilities of our cooperation. For the last 49 years our focus has been on border and security talks annually. These have not led to improvement of our border facilities, direct shipping links, creation of jobs, or significant export between our two countries. It is time PNG develops a strong, deep, and robust relationship with Indonesia in realising the potential of both countries in trade and investment, and appointment of Ms. Leo-Lohia is the start of the shift in focus to the commercial dimension of our relationship with Indonesia. Ms. Leo-Lohia will be the direct link between the private sector of our two countries and the PNG-Indonesia Business Council,” said Prime Minister Marape.
Prime Minister further highlighted the need for PNG to partner Indonesia which is the now the world’s fourth most populous national, the largest economy in Southeast Asia, and the seventh largest in terms of purchasing power parity.
“Indonesia’s economic base has shifted from the primary sector to secondary and tertiary industries and strengthening its position in downstream processing and adding value in manufacturing, trade, and services. The country’s transition from primary production to tertiary production is also aided by the establishment of economic zones. Indonesia now has 118 Industrial Parks, 15 SEZs, 4 Free Trade Zones and 10 Tourism Zones and these economic zones contributed significantly to the government’s policy on downstream processing and value addition of its natural resources.”
“Indonesia is a global player in mining, including the extraction of oil and natural gas being a key contributor to Indonesia’s GDP. Indonesia has ranked among the world’s third largest coal and nickel producers. Downstream processing has been relatively successful- thousands of jobs have been created, higher-value skills have been transferred, and advanced technological and economic processes have been brought to Indonesia. The nickel SEZ alone created 80,000 jobs and 12,000 indirect jobs at Weda Bay – only one SEZ created more jobs than the jobs created by entire PNG mining and petroleum industry”
Prime Minister Marape said: “PNG has immense potential with abundant natural resources in mining, petroleum, agriculture, fisheries, forestry and services for downstream processing value addition respectively. There is no better place to learn from than Indonesia which has already mastered this approach.
“The most valuable lesson PNG can learn from Indonesia is how they have mastered downstream processing and value addition, and how we can implement similar strategies in PNG. We do not have to look far- Indonesia, our closest neighbor has successfully navigated this path and is now a formidable player on the global stage. They are willing to share their experience and expertise, and we must stand ready to learn from them and collaborate with them. With the appointment of our Trade Commissioner, we are also looking at attracting serious Indonesian investment into PNG,” added Prime Minister Marape.