(L-R) Michael Gerard Sullivan - PNG-Europe Business Council, Jernej Videtic - EU Ambassador to PNG, Clarence Hoot - PNG Investment Promotion Authority and Richard Yakam - PNG National Trade Office

The PNG-Europe Business council, PNG Investment Promotion Authority, PNG National Trade Office and the Department of Commerce and Industry in collaboration with the Delegation of the European Union to Papua New Guinea will be hosting virtually the second EU-PNG Business, Trade and Investment conference in PNG’s capital, Port Moresby, from 11 – 12 October, 2021. The purpose of the conference is to help increase business contacts, discover new business opportunities and to foster new collaboration partners between the EU and PNG, Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Timor-Leste with particular attention to trade and investment aspects of sustainable development. The theme for this year’s European Union – Papua New Guinea Business, Trade and Investment Conference is ‘Strengthening sustainable trade and investment ties between the EU and PNG’. 

The first day of the conference will feature round-table discussion panels and a business matchmaking session. Participants will receive market analysis reports for the specific economic sectors identified as potential priorities for trade and investments between PNG and the EU.

The second day will focus on trade and investment as critical tools in achieving sustainable development, in light of the global crisis and challenges faced by PNG, the Pacific region and the European Union as a partner. To address the practical dimension of the conference, discussions will look into developing particular business sectors within PNG and the region in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way. The second EU-PNG Business, Trade and Investment Conference will provide market analysis on various sectors of interest for trade and investment in PNG.

The EU-Pacific Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) was concluded on 23 November 2007 with Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Fiji, representing a vast majority of the regional exports to the EU. The agreement was signed by the EU and PNG in July 2009 and commenced provisional application. Subsequently, Fiji signed the Agreement in December 2009. Samoa acceded to the Agreement in December 2018 and has been implementing it since. Thereafter, the Solomon Islands acceded to the Agreement in May 2020 and has also been implementing the EPA since. In addition, the accession processes for Tonga and Timor-Leste are currently being initiated.

As a development-oriented free trade agreement, the EPA aims to establish a free trade area between the parties, through progressive liberalisation, considering the specific needs and capacity constraints of the Pacific States. The parties look forward to, among other things, mainstreaming the trade aspects of sustainable development into respective policies.

This second event which follows the first one held in Port Moresby in 2019, is a reaffirmation of the EU and PNG‘s commitment to support further development of the EU business, trade and investment in PNG and the other five EPA States (including Tonga and Timor-Leste). This event intends to build further on previous EU actions including the context of EPA implementation and technical assistance provided to the PNG Trade Policy and will pave the way for further activities to promote EU-Pacific business, trade and investment.