๐ฃ๐ก๐โ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐ ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ๐๐ต๐ผ๐ฝ ๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ ๐ข๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ป๐ด
The Secretary for International Trade and Investment, Jacinta Warakai-Manua, officially opened the Papua New GuineaโUnited Arab Emirates (PNGโUAE) Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) Workshop in Madang, thanking senior representatives from key government departments and agencies, private sectors, provincial reps and participants for their attendance and commitment.
In her opening address, the Secretary reaffirmed that national priorities set out in the Medium-Term Development Plan IV (MTDP IV)โand consistently emphasised by the Governmentโfocus on growing the economy and creating employment opportunities for Papua New Guineans. She stated that to achieve these goals, PNG must diversify beyond its traditional trade and investment partners and strategically position itself to capture emerging global opportunities.
She highlighted that the workshop represents a significant step forward as participants gather to review and deliberate on 14 proposed CEPA chapters with the United Arab Emirates. These chapters span critical areas such as Economic Cooperation, Government Procurement, Investment Facilitation, Intellectual Property Rights, Trade in Goods, Trade in Services, Rules of Origin, SME Development, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, Technical Barriers to Trade, Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation, and Digital Trade.
Providing context, she noted that PNG has previously completed only one CEPAโits agreement with the European Unionโwhich included 22 chapters. In contrast, the UAE has already concluded 27 CEPAs, including recent agreements with Australia and New Zealand, demonstrating its strong global trade engagement.
The Secretary underscored the ambitious timeline set for concluding the PNGโUAE CEPA, targeted for completion by the end of this year or early next year. She emphasised that the process will require a whole-of-government approach and urged all agencies to ensure that adequate resources are available to support their officers throughout the negotiation process. Drawing from PNGโs past experience with the EU Interim EPA and the institutional capacity built through major events such as APEC 2018, she expressed confidence in the countryโs ability to undertake the negotiations effectively.
Secretary Manua also informed participants that two precursor agreements with the UAEโthe Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (IPPA) and the Bilateral Air Services Agreement (BASA)โare nearing completion, with only minor wording adjustments remaining in the IPPA.
She stressed the importance of inter-agency collaboration, noting that the CEPAโs success will depend heavily on sector-specific insights and policy contributions from each department, and private sectors. She praised the UAEโs rapid rise over the past fifty years into a global hub for finance, tourism, and trade facilitation, and encouraged PNG to strategically position itself to benefit from this partnership.
The Secretary concluded by thanking all stakeholders for their commitment and formally declared the PNGโUAE CEPA Workshop open.
