PNG’s foreign minister said its government had set aside more than $38 million to begin building facilities and a deal could be announced as early as next week.
The launching of a National Rugby League team in Papua New Guinea has “nothing to do with China”, according to the Pacific nation’s foreign minister, as he reveals new details about the competition’s historic expansion to Australia’s nearest neighbour.
Tkatchenko said links with Australia were probably at their best since the country’s independence in 1975, following the mid-year signing of a new bilateral security pact. The delivery of an NRL franchise to Port Moresby would make ties “stronger than ever before” and bed in the relationship for the future, no matter who was prime minister or in government, he added.
“China has nothing to do with this at all. I’m very clear on that. This is all about Australia and PNG’s relationship with nothing else in between.” “The Australian government, the PNG government and the NRL are aligned on the fundamentals of an agreement. We are very optimistic that we will be in a position to sign an agreement shortly,” said a spokesperson for Minister for International Development and the Pacific Pat Conroy.
Speaking to this masthead, Tkatchenko said: “This is all about friendship, this is all about partnership, this is all about us working together in the name of sport. This is nothing to do with geopolitics or anything like that.“China is our economic and trade partner and that is it. It makes it easier that everybody knows. It’s no hidden secret or anything like that. It’s very clear. We work with China on our economic prosperity and trade and infrastructure and we work with Australia the same.
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