Papua New Guinea is considering potential job opportunities for retired police and military personnel, according to Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka.
While attending the 53rd Pacific Island Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting in Nuku’alofa, Tonga, Prime Minister Rabuka met with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape on Monday to discuss various issues, including the reopening of Fiji’s diplomatic mission in Papua New Guinea and strategies to enhance climate resilience in the region.
Rabuka highlighted that the agenda also included a visit to Indonesia to discuss matters related to West Papua. He and Prime Minister Marape are special envoys for the Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) and were assigned to engage with Indonesia’s President regarding this issue last year.
“We were supposed to visit Indonesia to talk to authorities there about West Papua, but we haven’t accomplished that yet. We will need to inform the MSG leaders during our upcoming subregional meeting about our failure to meet with the President,” Rabuka stated. He also mentioned that delays occurred due to elections in Indonesia, suggesting it might be more appropriate to engage with the new President rather than an outgoing one.
Furthermore, Rabuka indicated that Fiji could provide personnel deployment from the Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) for peacekeeping missions in Papua New Guinea. He noted the availability of Black Rock training facilities for joint operations training for PNG personnel as necessary.
Rabuka confirmed that Fiji plans to expand cultural and educational opportunities for Papua New Guinea in the near future.