Vanimo Green MP, Belden Namah called a media conference yesterday in response to statements made by Opposition Leader, Don Polye, on the 2018 APEC Summit.
Polye, during last Friday’s parliament session stated that if the Opposition coalition were to take over government under his leadership in next year’s elections, the APEC conference will be cancelled.
Namah responded saying, to cancel the meeting will be regrettable and now is not the time to back-track on a commitment that PNG as a sovereign nation had made to the international community.
Namah said, “The decision to host the APEC meeting was made by the government of the day and in doing so, committed this nation. The international community agreed to give PNG this mandate to host this international event. Time has since run out and we have less than 24 months to host the APEC meeting.This is not a matter for political point scoring between PM and the Opposition Leader. This matter now reflects on the people of PNG and our integrity as a sovereign nation.”
Prime Minister Peter O’Neill also released a statement the day before, questioning the motive behind the Opposition Leader’s attacks on APEC, saying they were the same senseless attacks made against the Pacific Games last year.
