Prime Minister, Peter O’Neill, has congratulated Forestry Minister, Douglas Tomuriesa, on the successful staging of the first ever APEC Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Forestry.
The meeting concluded last week, with the release of the ‘Eda Statement’, an agreement by all APEC member countries, on a range of measures expected to strengthen the forestry sector in Papua New Guinea, and around the Pacific.
The ministers committed to increasing forest cover in the region, by at least 20 million hectares of all types of forests, by 2020.
Mr O’Neill said to reach this target, ongoing cooperation was needed between APEC member economies, as well as capacity building and efforts to prevent the sale of illegally harvested timber.
He said this first APEC Ministerial Meeting to be held in Papua New Guinea, is an example of what the nation can expect from subsequent APEC meetings leading up to 2018.
