On October 10, 2024, in Washington, DC, Jon Finer, Principal Deputy National Security Advisor, met with Papua New Guinea’s Deputy Prime Minister, John Rosso, to discuss the expanding U.S.-PNG Strategic Partnership. Key topics included U.S. support for electrification, humanitarian assistance, conflict prevention, and resource management. The partnership has already connected 19,000 households to electricity and addressed PNG’s fuel crisis. Both countries plan further cooperation in defense, education, and banking access. This partnership highlights the importance of economic freedom, open markets, and shared democratic values between the U.S. and Papua New Guinea.
Readout of Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer’s Meeting with Deputy Prime Minister John Rosso of Papua New Guinea
On October 10, Principal Deputy National Security Advisor Jon Finer met with Deputy Prime Minister John Rosso of Papua New Guinea in Washington, DC. They discussed the deepening cooperation between the United States and Papua New Guinea as exemplified by the establishment of the inaugural U.S.-PNG Strategic Partnership Dialogue. Mr. Finer noted the status of new and ongoing projects being undertaken by the United States in cooperation with Papua New Guinea, including building a humanitarian assistance/disaster relief warehouse in Lae, connecting 19,000 Papua New Guinean households to electricity over the last three months under the Papua New Guinea Electrification Partnership, the $26 million flagship Peace Project under the U.S Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability, and U.S. assistance to the Government of Papua New Guinea in resolving the ongoing fuel crisis.
Mr. Finer and Mr. Rosso reaffirmed the value and opportunities generated by our deepening partnership and discussed areas of potential future collaboration in education, people-to-people ties, resource conservation, access to banking services, and defense, especially where enabled by the U.S.-PNG Defense Cooperation Agreement. They agreed to be in touch over the coming weeks to continue the progress of the maturing relationship.
October 11,2024 Washington, DC
Five Critical Questions (Open Market Economy and U.S. Constitutional Perspective):
- How does the U.S.-PNG Strategic Partnership support economic freedom and competition, key pillars of the U.S. open market system?
- What measures are being implemented to protect the economic sovereignty of Papua New Guinea while fostering U.S.-backed development projects?
- How does the U.S.-PNG Defense Cooperation Agreement align with constitutional values, particularly in balancing security with individual freedoms?
- How does the partnership advance opportunities for private sector growth and entrepreneurship in Papua New Guinea in line with open market principles?
- How does the U.S. government ensure that foreign aid and development initiatives respect constitutional requirements for transparency and accountability?
Sources: WH.gov, Midtown Tribune
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