JAMES MARAPE, PRIME MINISTER OF PAPUA NEW GUINEA: I just want to appreciate you, once again, for coming by. On our side, our Ministers are assembled in the order of our agendas for discussion today. We represent a full Cabinet. I want to acknowledge that this is the first meeting between Australia and Papua New Guinea leadership for some time now, especially in a formal setting like this. We sincerely appreciate it, but we also take on board, we're coming out from the COVID-19 induced restrictions. But nonetheless, this is really the first time we've had a meeting in quite some time. In my time as Prime Minister, this is the first meeting, officially, between Papua New Guinea and Australian leadership, most importantly for us, on the shores of Papua New Guinea. We sincerely welcome you, Prime Minister, and your delegation. It has been a blast, from the moment you arrived, the 19-man gun salute that went off, until you arrived in Parliament and the address was embraced. As we enter into our formal dialogue, let me welcome you, appreciate you, your brother sitting on the other side, as we've always been. As Australian leaders, you are brothers and sisters to us. As a nation, we've been brother and sister nations. So, on this note we welcome you to Papua New Guinea. We hope our discussions here consolidate our relationships. We must not take it for granted that the younger generations will fully appreciate our shared history and our pasts. It is in our interests and our self-interest to ensure we have these dialogues and consolidate on where we are so that the future is secured for both nations. And as far as our own relationships are concerned, in the middle of many relationships we have. So, thank you very much, Mr Prime Minister. I do sincerely appreciate your presence. And I look forward to dialogue this afternoon, please.
ANTHONY ALBANESE, PRIME MINISTER OF AUSTRALIA: Well, thank you very much, Prime Minister and Ministers, for joining us and giving myself and my delegation a great honour that we've had visiting Papua New Guinea. It's certainly my first official visit as as Prime Minister, but also for earlier today, giving me an extraordinary honour of being the first foreign leader to address your National Parliament. And what a wonderful parliamentary building it is as well. Thank you for the very warm welcome that we received at the airport and then the one-on-one meeting that we had was, once again, very constructive. One of the things you spoke about in your comments in response to my address to your Parliament was the importance of people-to-people relations. I think that's something that COVID really reminded us, when we had the absence of that personal contact in the way that human beings need to interact. You can do a lot online and virtually and on the phone, but nothing beats personal relationship building. Prime Minister, can I thank you for the friendship that you've shown me over my first several months as Prime Minister of Australia. We have now had the opportunity to meet in Tokyo, in Suva at the Pacific Island Forum, to enjoy each other's company as the Prime Minister's XIII games that were held in Brisbane. But to have that ongoing dialogue, we previously had met when I was Opposition Leader. I think that nothing beats that personal contact. We are certainly developing that relationship. And at the APEC meeting in Bangkok just a couple of months ago, again, we were able to have a bilateral meeting and to engage there with other leaders from the Asia Pacific region. Our relationship is so important. Our national security is almost indivisible. A more secure PNG is a more secure Australia and vice versa. We regard ourselves as family, not just as friends. And families need to always look after each other. And certainly, our history, our common shared history, of Papua New Guinea, the extraordinary efforts of your citizens during World War Two, defending and protecting Australia's interests as well as your own national interest is something that will never be forgotten. My Party's role, and the role of two great leaders, Michael Somare and Gough Whitlam, almost 50 years ago now laid the foundations for the vision of an independent, strong and secure Papua New Guinea that will celebrate 50 years of independence in a couple of years' time. The lead-up to that independence celebration gives us an opportunity to, at that time, be able to look back and say, over the years of 2023 and 2024, we made practical measures: on security, on economic relationships and investment, on people-to-people relations, on workforce issues and support for education and training. That we've made these advances in strengthening our cultural ties as well between Australia and Papua New Guinea. And that we also - as two of the largest nations in our region - that we showed leadership, and worked with our other friends in the Pacific as well, to make sure that we, indeed, seize the opportunity which is there to respond to issues like peace and security, like making sure that climate change is something that presents an opportunity for us to transition as well, to work in areas of clean energy and the opportunities that are there for economic growth. So Prime Minister Marape, can I say that our friendship has grown into a personal one. But it also is, I think, symbolic of friendship between the nations of Australia and Papua New Guinea. And I thank you so much for your very warm welcome here today.