By Meleasie Goviro – EMTV News, Port Moresby
Papua New Guinea’s Governor General, Grand Chief Sir Bob Dadae, acknowledged the appointment of the High Commissioner-Designate of Brunei Darussalam to PNG, Haji Zakaria Ahmad.
During his accreditation today (May 22), the Governor General said the state looked forward to welcoming Brunei delegates come the APEC summit.
He noted that since formalising diplomatic ties, Brunei and PNG have had very minimal state visits, other than discussions in shared forums including APEC. He suggested regular visits between countries to develop better understanding and cooperation.
“As High Commissioner of Brunei to Papua new Guinea, regular visits by political leaders and officials should be further encouraged as these would positively contribute towards promoting goodwill, better understanding and cooperation between our two countries and peoples” he said to Mr Zakaria Ahmad.
While Haji Zakaria Ahmad congratulated PNG for chairing the upcoming APEC, it appears Brunei Darussalam is content to just “work together in shared forums.”
“I would like to congratulate the Independent State of Papua New Guinea on its chairmanship of APEC and all the arrangements made for the year. We look forward to participating fully in all the upcoming meetings and working closely with all APEC economies to further improve the movement of goods and services, investment and people across our borders,” he stated.
Mr Zakaria Ahmad concluded saying, “As the High Commissioner of Brunei Darussalam to the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, I will do my utmost to further bilateral ties in the best interests of our nation.”
