PRIME Minister, James Marape has welcomed the new ambassador of France to Papua New Guinea, His Excellency Guillaume Lemoine.
PM Marape congratulated him on his appointment as the High-Representative of the Republic of France to PNG and assured the Ambassador of the PNG Government’s commitment in working closely with him to strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries.
“I reaffirm PNG’s support and commitment to ensure your Excellency’s tenure will be a successful one that benefits the people of our two countries.
“Ambassador, I note that since the establishment of formal diplomatic relations on 22 June 1976, PNG and France have continued to enjoy warm and friendly relations. I reassure you of my Government’s commitment to closer relations with France.
“The relations between our two countries have been further enhanced with a couple of high level visits from our side. The recent one was the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Commerce and Industry, Hon. Sam Basil’s visit to Paris, France for the signing of the agreement between the Government of PNG and Total, allowing the resumption of the Papua LNG Project after two years of negotiations.
“Your appointment and our discussions here is a further testimony to enhancing our relationships,” said PM Marape.
He said that the French Embassy in Port Moresby has downsized its operations since 2015 and is now sharing the office space with the European Union Delegation.
“Papua New Guinea acknowledges the continued support that France has given in the region through its territories in the Pacific, as well as to Papua New Guinea through its significant contributions to the European Union, which PNG gets its development assistance from through the ACP-EU Economic Development Funds Programme.
“Ambassador, we are appreciative of the ongoing assistance that France has been providing us in our fight against COVID-19 Pandemic including the first two shipments of protective equipment for front line workers, which arrived in March and April this year.
“We reassure you that the Government of PNG looks forward to working closely with you Ambassador, to further enhance the good bilateral relations that exist between both countries. And I thank you for the courtesy call and wish you a fruitful tour of duty in Papua New Guinea,” he said.
PM Marape said this during a courtesy call by the Ambassador at his office at the Sir Manasupe House in Port Moresby yesterday, May 26.
-Press Release-