1. Neighbourly Cooperation

Papua New Guinea has built, strengthened and maximized common interests in many areas of co-operation, including people-to-people links at all levels, trade and investment, technical and development assistance, education and training, transport and communications, defence and security, with the immediate neighbours in the Asia-Pacific regions.

Growing neighbourly co-operation is a key strategy of Papua New Guinea's foreign policy, and will continue to be a given priority by the successive Governments and the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The relations of Papua new Guinea has are diverse and in some cases complex and it is therefore paramount for the Government to maintain good and constructive relationships, preserving, protecting and promoting PNG's sovereignty, promoting PNG's role as a leaders and development partner in the Pacific, endorsing democratic values, and securing and enhancing the well-being and security of its citizens with the close neighbors and regional organization.

2. Strengthening Key Partnership

Strengthening of key partnership is the key to enhance Papua New Guinea to effectively maintain cooperation and dialogue with the development partners. PNG therefore remain totally committed to further strengthen and consolidate the key partnerships with the Pacific Island Forum (PIF) and member countries, the PIF Dialogue Partners, and other regional organizations such as the South Pacific Commission (SPC), Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), Pacific Islands Development Programme (PIDP), and Parties to the Nauru Agreement (PNA).

We pledge to actively promote Pacific Regionalism and the concept of the Blue Continent, taking a leadership role where appropriate and assisting our fellow Pacific Island States where possible.

As a growing developing country, Papua New Guinea is substantially advancing multilateral cooperation to the new heights with key regional and international organizations such as Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Africa, Caribbean, and the Pacific (ACP) - European Union (EU) Arrangements, Commonwealth, G77 + China, Non- Aligned Movement (NMA), and Asia - Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). Through these co-operations, Papua New Guinea has been able to further foster closer relations with member countries and economies of the international organizations.

3. Diversifying and Building Partnership for Mutual Benefits

The focus on employing strategic approaches where appropriate bilaterally and multilaterally will diversify and mature Papua New Guinea's partnership base for mutual benefits. It will at the same time consolidate and further enhance direct linkages to step up PNG's connection globally with countries in the Asia, Europe, Americas, Middle East Africa, and the Caribbean regions that influence trends in international politics and economic development.

Papua New Guinea has been able to successfully advanced relations through bilateral, regional and multilateral arrangements for cooperation and at the same time maximized the opportunities that exist for mutual interests. It is on this basis that we should explore to further advance the relations by some of the key activities reflected in the matrix below that identifies ways to achieve this objective.

The Government must advance efforts and programme towards strengthening cooperation through enhancing development agenda on sustainable development, strengthening the South - South cooperation, and also the multilateral engagements with organizations in order to consolidate the multilateral approach to diversifying and building partnership for mutual benefits.

4. Trade and Economic Cooperation

The trade, investment and economic cooperation arrangements Papua New Guinea has with other countries and multilateral economic organizations will continue to be a priority of the government to actively implement. The key priority is to promote, protect and build a strong open and conducive international economic environment that will facilitate cross-border trade and investments for sustainable economic development and economic diversification, downstream processing, job creation and competitiveness.

Guided by the foreign policy approaches, and the National Trade Policy, the Department of Foreign Affairs focuses on growing and widening PNG's international trade and promote efforts towards attracting increasing flow of capital investment from investor countries and international financial institutions into PNG. The trade policy defines and set the regulatory mechanism for PNG to manage its international trade with the trading partners and the goal is to advance, consolidate and maximize the nation' trading interests within and outside of the country.

5. Institutional Strengthening, Modernization and Operational Processes

It is important and necessary for the Department of Foreign Affairs both at headquarters and overseas missions as well as posts abroad to effectively and efficiently manage Papua New Guinea's international relations hence to realize the Foreign Policy goals and objectives.

The Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs gives priority attention to the institutional strengthening, modernization and operational process of the foreign service of the Department. These are important and some of the key paths forwards are the: preparations of plans, budget submissions, and briefs for the CACC and other government agencies together with regular updated procedures and manuals; recruitment of opportunities for further learning, appropriate exchanges with other government agencies, private sector, and NGO's; and drafting of the Foreign Service Act, the Code of Conduct, and the establishment of the Diplomatic Academic.

6. Good Global Citizenship

Papua New Guinea as a good global citizen is not only an active member but also plays an influential role in some regional and international organizations including the commodity organisation such as coffee, cocoa, copra, tropical timber, and palm oil. It is imperative that the Government must continue to maintain cooperation towards growing and consolidating Papua New Guinea's regional and international connections hence promoting multilateralism in adherence to international laws and best practise.

As a member of the United Nations and its Agencies, Papua New Guinea will continue to actively participate in addressing key global and regional issues of mutual interest including: refugees, natural disasters; global warming & high rise in sea level; achieving the SDG's; defense and security; trade and economic cooperation; migration; human rights such as the rights of women and disabled persons; and intellectual property rights.

Papua New Guinea's close association is both important and relevant in the context of national interests and we will continue to give support to the UN reforms including the composition of the UN Security Council membership.