Papua New Guinea’s (PNG) decision to close its trade office in Taipei and “relocate it back to the Pacific country under a new name” was made due to its government’s long-term financial difficulties, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Both sides would continue to cooperate closely in fields including agriculture, energy, and business and trade, despite the relocation announcement, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s trade office in Papua New Guinea, which was opened in 1990, would not be affected by the decision, she added.
Ou’s comments were made after Papua New Guinea Minister of Foreign Affairs Justin Tkatchenko on Tuesday announced that the Papua New Guinea Trade Office in Taiwan would be closed.
The office would be renamed the “PNG Taipei Economic Office” and relocated back to Papua New Guinea’s capital, Port Moresby, where it would be staffed by a business liaison official instead of a diplomat, Tkatchenko said.
The office, established in 2015, did not have sufficient economic benefit and the poor behavior of Papua New Guinea’s representatives in Taiwan had tarnished the south Pacific country’s reputation, Tkatchenko told reporters.
The closure of the Taiwan trade office was not in response to pressure from the Chinese government, he said.
Papua New Guinea has recognized China since 1976, one year after it became independent from Australia.
Tkatchenko said that the Papua New Guinea government has been reviewing all foreign missions and would decide which are viable and which not.
“Taipei has not justified the amount of money we are spending to keep the office open,” he said.
According to a Radio Free Asia report, Papua New Guinea is the most populous Pacific island country, with nearly 10 million people, but also among the poorest and struggles to fund its embassies.
Also, “as you know we were completely embarrassed and ridiculed by the behavior of certain officers last year,” Tkatchenko said, referring to an incident when a Papua New Guinea diplomat made headlines after attacking his wife and an employee at a Taipei restaurant in a drunken rage in September last year.
The diplomat was later recalled to Papua New Guinea.
Taiwan’s state-own energy company CPC Corp, Taiwan, signed a 20-year-deal with the Papua New Guinea Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Project, allowing imports of 1.2 million tonnes of LNG annually starting June 2014, the ministry said.
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