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, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Wednesday.
Both sides will continue to cooperate closely in various fields, including in agriculture, energy, and business and trade, despite the relocation announcement, MOFA spokeswoman Joanne Ou (???) said.
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s trade office in Papua New Guinea, which was opened in 1990, is not affected by the decision, Ou said.
Ou’s comments were made after Papua New Guinea Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko announced Tuesday that the Papua New Guinea Trade Office in Taiwan will be closed.
The office will be renamed the “PNG Taipei Economic Office” and relocated back to Papua New Guinea’s capital Port Moresby where it will 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.
He said that the closure of the Taiwan trade office was not in response to pressure from the Chinese government.
Papua New Guinea has recognized China since 1976, one year after it became independent from Australia.
Tkatchenko said the Papua New Guinea government has been reviewing all foreign missions and will decide which are viable and which not. “Taipei has not justified the amount of money we are spending to keep the office open.”
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.
According to MOFA, Taiwan’s state-own energy company, CPC Corp., Taiwan, signed a 20-year-deal with Papua New Guinea Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Project, allowing the import of 1.2 million metric tons of LNG annually starting June 2014.
Taiwan is also a major importer of timber and minerals from Papua New Guinea, which is also a key processing base for Taiwan’s deep sea fisheries industry, the ministry added.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel