Embassies
- General
- Internal
- External
The Government of Papua New Guinea strives to maintain healthy relations with other governments through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration. The embassies of those countries based in the country and its own embassies abroad form a core part of maintaining effective foreign relations and the promotion of socio-economic, political and strategic and economic initiatives that are mutually beneficial. Important development partners include, among others, Australia, the UK, the USA, China, Japan, New Zealand, Germany and Malaysia. Papua New Guinea is a member of the Commonwealth, the United Nations (UN) and its agencies, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Pacific Islands Forum, the South Pacific Commission and the Melanesian Spearhead Group.
There are around 23 foreign embassies in Papua New Guinea, most of which are located in the capital, Port Moresby. During the 2000s, the Australian Government has annually provided over US$300 million in aid to the country, accounting for a substantial proportion of Papua New Guinea’s national budget (2010). The Australian High Commission in Port Moresby is the embassy that maintains Australia’s Overseas Aid Programme (AusAid) in Papua New Guinea. The budget has been used to assist with the development of improved transport infrastructure, as well as education, health and public services. The US embassy in Port Moresby, aside from promoting and serving the United States’ interests with Papua New Guinea, also serves as its base embassy for maintaining relations with neighbouring Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
Papua New Guinea maintains a limited number of embassies, high commissions and consulates around the globe; the primary representative offices are the Papua New Guinean consulate in Canberra, Australia, the Papua New Guinean embassy in Washington DC, USA, and the Papua New Guinea High Commission in London, UK. As a member of the UN, Papua New Guinea works towards international economic development, security and peace, and maintains a permanent mission in New York, USA, and Geneva, Switzerland. To strengthen Papua New Guinea’s relationship with the countries in which it maintains its primary embassies, it provides information on investment, trade and tourism to the citizens of the country in which the embassy is located as well as to its own citizens. Embassies and other foreign missions can be contacted for information on consular matters such as visas, passports and travel.