The Minister for Fisheries and Marine Resources, Jelta Wong, has a bilateral meeting with the United Nations to advance fisheries sector.
Wong met with the Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Maurizio Martina on the margins of the 2026 Pacific Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) Solutions Forum.
The meeting served as a pivotal moment to consolidate the longstanding partnership between Papua New Guinea and the FAO, spanning 51 years. Minister Wong expressed profound appreciation for the FAO’s essential role in modernizing legal and governance systems across PNG’s primary sectors since 1975.
A central focus of the dialogue was the modernization of institutional frameworks. Minister Wong and Deputy Director-General Martina discussed the finalization of the FAO-PNG Host Country Agreement, which will serve as the institutional cornerstone for expanding technical capacity and strengthening country-office coordination.
Crucially, Minister Wong proposed a forward-looking strategic framework that integrates fisheries into the FAO’s Hand-in-Hand (HiH) Initiative. Recognizing the leadership of the Minister for Agriculture, John Boito, and Minister Wong emphasized that this alignment is essential to bridge the gap between national development plans and inter-agency delivery, ensuring a holistic approach to food security that encompasses both agriculture and marine resources.
Minister Wong commended the FAO’s leadership in executing the €86 million EU- STREIT PNG Programme, the largest grant initiative in the Pacific region. Building upon the successful completion of value-chain assessments in East and West Sepik, Minister Wong called for sustained collaboration to translate these findings into tangible field-level infrastructure, cold-chain transport, and robust market connections that will empower rural riverine and coastal communities.
The discussion highlighted Papua New Guinea’s proactive approach to regional ocean diplomacy, specifically through the Melanesian Ocean Corridor of Reserves (MOCOR).
Minister Wong introduced MOCOR as a regional leadership framework designed to advance global 30×30 marine conservation targets while preserving critical regional tuna stock connectivity.
A highlight of the meeting was the emphasis on innovation, particularly PNG’s strategic partnership with the Minderoo Foundation. By utilizing environmental DNA (eDNA) technology, PNG is setting a new standard for non-invasive, genomic-level biodiversity assessments. Minister Wong invited the FAO to endorse and integrate this eDNA methodology into its global marine spatial planning frameworks to scientifically monitor and enforce Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) effectively.
Addressing the critical challenge of Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing, Minister Wong reaffirmed PNG’s commitment to the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA), which entered into force in PNG on 6 April 2024.
“As a major maritime nation, Papua New Guinea is prepared to exercise regional leadership in curbing IUU fishing,” Wong stated.
“Fully operationalizing and domesticating the PSMA remains a priority. We look to the FAO for ongoing support in updating our regulations, refining our standard operating procedures, and conducting advanced training for our inter-agency task forces, including the National Fisheries Authority, police, defense, and customs.”
Reflecting on recent successes, including the training of 39 judges and magistrates on maritime offenses and the successful secondments of NFA officers to FAO headquarters, the Minister proposed institutionalizing these professional development pathways through recurring secondments and technical accreditations.
Minister Wong concluded by reaffirming the Government of Papua New Guinea’s steadfast commitment to supporting the FAO’s mandate and advancing regional ocean stewardship across Melanesia and the wider Pacific.
