Japan has shown its commitment to assist Papua New Guinea to be host to the APEC Leaders Summit in 2018.
As part of its assistance, the Government of Japan through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has arranged for government officials to undergo technical training programs on various fields in Japan.
The officers will learn about current global challenges and the best solutions available from the expertise of Japan. The participants will be empowered to contribute to APECs policy preparation for APEC 2018.
JICA, in collaboration with the PNG APEC Secretariat hosted a post-training presentation session today. It was for government officials to present the outcomes from their training programs arranged to support the PNG Government in its policy preparations towards hosting APEC.
Chief Representative of JICA PNG, Takashi Toyama, said JICA will continue its cooperation packages towards PNGs successful hosting of APEC as well as better service delivery beyond APEC.
Director General of the PNG APEC Secretariat, Lahui Ako, said the participants of these short training programs by JICA in Japan return and provide feedback on how best the Secretariat can tailor its policy priorities for next year.
The PNG APEC Secretariat is responsible for the formation of the theme and the policy priority for 2018. Ako said the priorities are currently being finalised and will cover issues on sustainable and inclusive growth, human resource development, regional economic integration and structural reform.
So far, 14 government officials have been sent to Japan to undergo these programs. It is hoped that by 2018, around 50 to 60 government officials attached with the Committee for APEC Policy Issues will be capacity built under these technical training programs.
