03 November 2010

Clinton Promotes Rights, Openness in Papua New Guinea

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited the Tubuserea Lavadai Mangrove Reforestation project in Papua New Guinea on November 3.

By Merle David Kellerhals Jr.
Staff Writer

Washington — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton encouraged Papua New Guinea to address its human rights conditions and to strengthen anti-corruption efforts.

The secretary also offered to help the government set up a sovereign wealth fund to manage revenue from massive oil and natural gas fields. In addition, Clinton said the United States is committed to empowering women in Papua New Guinea and across the Asia-Pacific region.

“The planning for a sovereign wealth fund is a very important commitment. And the United States stands ready to help translate your country’s natural resources into widespread prosperity,” Clinton said at a press conference in Port Moresby with Prime Minister Michael Somare.

Clinton’s trip to Papua New Guinea was also intended to signal a continued U.S. commitment to the Pacific island nations in a broader engagement with the Asia-Pacific region. The secretary’s 13-day visit to the region includes meetings with leaders and senior officials from eight nations. The United States shares interests in freedom of navigation, cooperation on climate change, food security and biodiversity protection.

Papua New Guinea has abundant deposits of gold, copper and other minerals, as well as oil and natural gas fields, whose development would be a boon to the national economy while helping to meet global and regional energy demands. The U.S. energy giant Exxon Mobil is a majority stakeholder in a new $15 billion liquefied natural gas project that is expected to come on line in 2014.

Clinton, the first U.S. secretary of state to visit the South Pacific nation in 12 years, said November 3 during meetings in Port Moresby that for Papua New Guinea to achieve an effective and responsive democracy with economic development and growing prosperity, there will have to be a strong commitment to good government, with openness and accountability.

She met with Somare and encouraged his coalition government to strengthen protection and services for its people. She said the United States would partner with the World Bank Group and the Papua New Guinea government to host a regional meeting in 2011 to discuss how best to empower women, including maternal health and economic empowerment.

Clinton visited the Tubuserea Lavadai Mangrove Reforestation project, funded in part by a U.S. grant for efforts to manage biodiversity, natural resources and climate change. In addition, the United States provides support for the Coral Triangle Initiative, which protects marine biodiversity, improves capacity for coastal and fishery management, and supports climate change measures in the Pacific.

The Obama administration has pledged more than $21.5 million over the next two years, pending congressional approval, in climate change assistance for Pacific island countries.

(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)