Papua New Guinea will open three new embassies in the Pacific, strengthening its diplomatic presence across Micronesia, Polynesia, and Melanesia.
The new missions will be established in the Marshall Islands, Tonga, and Vanuatu, said Prime Minister James Marape, who announced the plans during the Melanesian Oceans Summit at the APEC Haus in Port Moresby.
He explained that the embassy in the Marshall Islands will serve as PNG’s outreach to Micronesia, Tonga will host its mission for Polynesia, and Vanuatu will complete PNG’s presence across Melanesia.
“Our new missions will strengthen friendships, improve trade, and ensure PNG is fully engaged in regional decision‑making,” he said.
Marape noted that the expansion follows bilateral agreements signed with visiting Pacific leaders, particularly from Micronesia.
He emphasised that while some of these nations may be small in population, they hold vast ocean resources that must be managed sustainably.
“We want to make sure our fish resource of the Pacific is properly harvested in a sustainable manner, evaluated properly, and more returns are passed back to our Pacific Island fish owners, including ourselves and the nations of the Pacific,” he said.
Marape also highlighted PNG’s role as one of the largest Pacific nations outside Australia and New Zealand, stressing the importance of unity.
“Our presence in the Pacific will make sure we remain as a bloc, as one family, one people of the South Pacific,” he said.
With existing missions already in Fiji and Solomon Islands, the new embassies will give PNG a complete diplomatic footprint across the three main Pacific sub‑regions.
