FOREIGN
RELATIONS
Papua New Guinea's foreign policy
reflects close ties with Australia and other traditional allies
and cooperative relations with neighboring countries. Its views
on international political and economic issues are generally moderate.
Papua New Guinea has diplomatic relations with 56 countries.
U.S.-PAPUA
NEW GUINEA RELATIONS
The United States and Papua New Guinea established diplomatic
relations upon the latter's independence on September 16, 1975.
The two nations belong to a variety of regional organizations,
including the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum;
the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF); the South Pacific Commission;
and the South Pacific Regional Environmental Program (SPREP).
One of the most successful cooperative multilateral efforts linking the U.S. and Papua New Guinea is the U.S.-Pacific Islands Multilateral Tuna Fisheries Treaty, under which the U.S. grants $18 million per year to Pacific Island parties and the latter provide access for U.S. fishing vessels. The United States has provided significant humanitarian assistance to Papua New Guinea and contributed to the rehabilitation of Bougainville. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funds a $1.5 million-per-year HIV/AIDS project in Papua New Guinea and contributed $150,000 to Oro disaster relief efforts. An ongoing International Military Education and Training (IMET) program and HIV-AIDS training program exists.
The U.S. also supports Papua New Guinea's efforts to protect biodiversity. The U.S. Government supports the International Coral Reef Initiative aimed at protecting reefs in tropical nations such as Papua New Guinea. U.S. military forces, through Pacific Command (PACOM) in Honolulu, Hawaii, provide training to the Papua New Guinea Defense Force (PNGDF) and have held small-scale joint training exercises. The U.S. provides police and other education and training courses to national security officials. The U.S. also annually sponsors a handful of PNG officials and private citizens to meet and confer with their professional counterparts and to experience the U.S. first-hand through the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP).
The U.S. Peace Corps ceased operations in Papua New Guinea in 2001 due to security concerns. About 2,000 U.S. citizens live in Papua New Guinea, with major concentrations at the headquarters of New Tribes Mission and the Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL), both located in the Eastern Highlands Province.
Principal U.S. Embassy Officials
Ambassador--Leslie Rowe
Deputy Chief of Mission--Thomas Weinz
Consular Officer--Ed Fajardo
The U.S. Embassy in Papua New Guinea is located on Douglas Street, Port Moresby (tel. 675-321-1455; fax 675-321-3423). The mailing address is 4240 Port Moresby Pl., U.S. Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-4240.
