Port Moresby
Papua New Guinea
Secretary-General's joint press encounter with the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea
Press events | António Guterres, Secretary-General
Press events | António Guterres, Secretary-General
Ladies and gentlemen of the media,
I was deeply moved [and] express my enormous gratitude for the wonderful, outstanding hospitality I enjoyed in Papua New Guinea, starting by the Prime Minister that spent two entire days enlightening me, in different parts of the country, about the challenges, but also about the projects, for the development of Papua New Guinea.
And then, government officers, Governors, staff, different departments that accompanied me with an enormous generosity. But I would say, especially, the warm welcome by the wonderful, beautiful, people of Papua New Guinea, especially in Nuku and Mount Hagen, where I had a chance to be with thousands of citizens of this country that have shown an enormous sympathy, an enormous openness, and I was surrounded by beautiful people, beautiful landscapes and an extremely warm welcome.
Second, I want to pay tribute to Papua New Guinea. More than 800 languages, very remote parts of the country with enormous challenges, but Papua New Guinea is a country with 50 years of uninterrupted democracy. And I had the opportunity to pay tribute to the father of the country.
And in a world where we see democratic values being put into question by countries with much less problems than Papua New Guinea, I must say that we should all be grateful for this remarkable example.
And on the other hand, not only 50 years of democracy, but a permanent attitude of solving the problems of the country in a peaceful way, with dialogue among all the interested parties. A remarkable example in today’s world, and I want to pay tribute to that and to express my deep admiration.
And third, gratitude and solidarity in relation to the role played by Papua New Guinea in today’s world, especially the extraordinary contribution of this country to address the challenges of climate change.
Papua New Guinea does not contribute to climate change. Papua New Guinea has a negative emissions record, due to an enormous carbon sink: the admirable forests of this country and the ocean.
I want to express, on behalf of the international community, our deep gratitude for the contribution of Papua New Guinea to the fight against climate change.
And the same international community that receives the enormous benefit of Papua New Guinea’s forests and oceans must pay back.
So, I want to launch a very clear appeal for the international community. First of all, to accept that there must be climate justice and that countries like Papua New Guinea must have all the support that was promised, in order to be able to address the needs of adaptation to build resilience and to protect its people and its country against the devastating impact of climate change.
But also, justice in the way international financial institutions address the problems of development. We have an international financial architecture that is outdated. It was created 75 years ago. Those institutions could not benefit of the presence of Papua New Guinea when they were created.
We absolutely need reforms of the international financial systems in order for developing countries like Papua New Guinea to have a much stronger voice and a much stronger influence in the way decisions are taken. And a much higher access to the resources that are essential for the development of the country.
Papua New Guinea has enormous challenges, but because it is a middle-income country, it has no access to concessional funding. This is an injustice that must be corrected. My appeal to the international community is to correspond to the generosity of Papua New Guinea and its contribution to fight climate change with its wonderful forests and its ocean.
Finally, I want to express my deep wishes that all the plans for the development of this country to overcome the challenges, to bring education, health, infrastructure, everywhere – and that the Prime Minister explained to me in detail – that all these programs are successful and that the international community is able to understand the importance of supporting Papua New Guinea on the way for a modern society that leaves no one behind.
Honorable Prime Minister,
Thank you very much for the wonderful opportunity that you gave me to visit your extremely beautiful, but also energetic, country.
I was deeply moved [and] express my enormous gratitude for the wonderful, outstanding hospitality I enjoyed in Papua New Guinea, starting by the Prime Minister that spent two entire days enlightening me, in different parts of the country, about the challenges, but also about the projects, for the development of Papua New Guinea.
And then, government officers, Governors, staff, different departments that accompanied me with an enormous generosity. But I would say, especially, the warm welcome by the wonderful, beautiful, people of Papua New Guinea, especially in Nuku and Mount Hagen, where I had a chance to be with thousands of citizens of this country that have shown an enormous sympathy, an enormous openness, and I was surrounded by beautiful people, beautiful landscapes and an extremely warm welcome.
Second, I want to pay tribute to Papua New Guinea. More than 800 languages, very remote parts of the country with enormous challenges, but Papua New Guinea is a country with 50 years of uninterrupted democracy. And I had the opportunity to pay tribute to the father of the country.
And in a world where we see democratic values being put into question by countries with much less problems than Papua New Guinea, I must say that we should all be grateful for this remarkable example.
And on the other hand, not only 50 years of democracy, but a permanent attitude of solving the problems of the country in a peaceful way, with dialogue among all the interested parties. A remarkable example in today’s world, and I want to pay tribute to that and to express my deep admiration.
And third, gratitude and solidarity in relation to the role played by Papua New Guinea in today’s world, especially the extraordinary contribution of this country to address the challenges of climate change.
Papua New Guinea does not contribute to climate change. Papua New Guinea has a negative emissions record, due to an enormous carbon sink: the admirable forests of this country and the ocean.
I want to express, on behalf of the international community, our deep gratitude for the contribution of Papua New Guinea to the fight against climate change.
And the same international community that receives the enormous benefit of Papua New Guinea’s forests and oceans must pay back.
So, I want to launch a very clear appeal for the international community. First of all, to accept that there must be climate justice and that countries like Papua New Guinea must have all the support that was promised, in order to be able to address the needs of adaptation to build resilience and to protect its people and its country against the devastating impact of climate change.
But also, justice in the way international financial institutions address the problems of development. We have an international financial architecture that is outdated. It was created 75 years ago. Those institutions could not benefit of the presence of Papua New Guinea when they were created.
We absolutely need reforms of the international financial systems in order for developing countries like Papua New Guinea to have a much stronger voice and a much stronger influence in the way decisions are taken. And a much higher access to the resources that are essential for the development of the country.
Papua New Guinea has enormous challenges, but because it is a middle-income country, it has no access to concessional funding. This is an injustice that must be corrected. My appeal to the international community is to correspond to the generosity of Papua New Guinea and its contribution to fight climate change with its wonderful forests and its ocean.
Finally, I want to express my deep wishes that all the plans for the development of this country to overcome the challenges, to bring education, health, infrastructure, everywhere – and that the Prime Minister explained to me in detail – that all these programs are successful and that the international community is able to understand the importance of supporting Papua New Guinea on the way for a modern society that leaves no one behind.
Honorable Prime Minister,
Thank you very much for the wonderful opportunity that you gave me to visit your extremely beautiful, but also energetic, country.