Papua New Guinea to Promote Sustainable Economy in the World Economy

By Editorial Team

Minister for Forestry Honorable Walter Schnaubelt, Commissioner General of PNG’s World Expo 2020, Ambassador Joshua Kalinoe, VIP guests, PNG Dubai Community representatives and PNG Pavilion staff during the opening of the Papua New Guinea Pavilion.

The island of Papua New Guinea has the third largest rainforest and carbon sink in the world and houses the largest biodiversity. The PNG story in the world expo in Dubai will be anchored around these facts and how Papua New Guineans live in balance with the environment.

This was signalled by the Minister for Forest Honourable Walter Schnaubelt when officially opening the Expo2020 PNG Pavilion in Dubai.

The PNG Pavilion is located in the Sustainability District of the Expo, which is one of the three thematic districts in the Expo2020 site. The other districts include Mobility and Opportunity.

In his opening remarks, Minister Schnaubelt said that there was a lot to tell and more to discover in Papua New Guinea. That is why the country chose the subtheme “Connecting minds and creating opportunities for sustainable development.”

“Papua New Guinea is the last frontier in respect of forest and biodiversity and its people,” Minister Schnaubelt said. “It is an amazing country of surprises and opportunities for the investors, tourists or even for an explorer like the story from the Danish Explorers Club in Copenhagen, Denmark, Thor Jensen, with the help of three Papua New Guineas, circumnavigated the island of New Guinea in a traditional canoe that was used for barter trading in parts of Papua New Guinea.

Minister Schnaubelt also stated that the apart from telling the PNG story, the Government, through the expo was creating a pathway and bouncing pad for the private sector to partner and bounce to new heights. “It is our goal that businesses that are looking for new markets and innovations to increase their sales volume or perhaps looking for partners to expand their businesses can do that here,” he said.

Minister Schnaubelt also used the occasion to convey to the Government of the United Arab Emirates the gratitude of the PNG Government for the support given for PNG to participate in the world expo.

Apart from officiating at the opening of the PNG pavilion, Minister Schnaubelt also attended the Climate and Biodiversity week and is also expected to deliver the investment profile of PNG in the inaugural investment forum.