PNG Behind the Rest of the World in Developing a Single Window System: Minister Maru

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Port Moresby, May 3, 2024- The rest of the world has moved on with the Single Window System while we are far behind, says the Minister for International Trade and Investment, Hon. Richard Maru today while receiving the Papua New Guinea (PNG) Electronic Single Window Blueprint from the National Trade Facilitating Committee.

“I was the Minister for Trade and Commerce when we agreed that we will have a Single Window System to facilitate trade globally. This decision was made in 2013 at the 9th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Bali, Indonesia. It took us four years for the Cabinet to approve and ratify the agreement in 2017. After that, it has taken us 7 years to reach this point. This is not good enough; it has taken us a very long time to reach this point and we are far behind the rest of the world,” said Minister Maru.

A recent report by World Bank ranked PNG 120 out of 200 countries in terms of ease of doing business.

“This rating is not acceptable; we must not accept this. All countries around world are now fighting to attract investors. The country that is most effective with least cost wins because investors want to do trade with countries who are competent and effective. It has taken us 50 years to send taro to New Zealand and to the USA, and broccoli to Australia and we wonder why. It is because our systems of facilitating trade is so poor. This is something the Marape-Rosso Government will not accept anymore. The number one priority of our Government is economic growth, and this will happen on the back of trade, exports going out, and investors coming in. This project is the number one priority of our Government because it will change the way we do business with the rest of the world and the way we attract investors,” said Minister Maru.

Minister Maru thanked the United Nations Conference of Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the European Union, all stakeholders, institutions, and the specialists for their tireless efforts towards the development of the PNG Electronic Single Window Blueprint.

“We have just started this project and it is a quarter or a tenth complete and we have to get it done. This is only a report; we do not have the system and have not created value yet. We still need UNCTAD and the EU, and all our stakeholders and partners to complete this project and we must work to a timeframe that this project will be delivered within the term of this Government. We do not have to reinvent the wheel because this is not a new system- many countries have gone down this path and we can learn from the best and just replicate a system that is of world standard and is competitive with the rest of the world,” said Minister Maru.

Minister Maru called on all 22 agencies identified in the blueprint to cooperate and work together to deliver a Single Window System that everyone could use.

“Each agency must not be territorial over your functional responsibilities. The customers, investors, and the exporters are kings- they are the ones who make it happen. We are only pen pushers; we are servants for the people and we are here to facilitate for them to grow exports and to bring investors,” said Minister Maru.

Minister Maru added: “This year we will license three new SEZs. They all want Single Window System but we are not ready. We have to deliver the red-carpet treatment to the investors and exporters similar to what they receive in other countries all over the world using the One-Stop-Shop concept. We are competing with the rest of the world for investment dollars and export markets so we must be efficient. We cannot talk about SEZs when we are not globally competitive. I don’t want this project to be delayed- our people are waiting, our exporters are waiting, and the investors are waiting. We must deliver this Single Window System. I am very happy to accept and receive this report today. I look forward to the NEC Submission which I will present to the Cabinet to endorse the blueprint, the implementation plan, and the timeframe to develop the Single Window System, and also to request funding from the Government to support donor partners like UNCTAD and the EU. This project is so important that I will give it my 110 percent priority and I want it delivered in this term of the Government,” Minister Maru added.

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