Photo credit: Papua New Guinea Today - Treasurer Ling-Stuckey received by World Bank VP Manuela Ferro at World Bank HQ in Washington DC.USA
COVID-19 and Climate Change were the topics of discussion between Papua New Guinea and the World Bank. According to Ian Ling-Stuckey, the Treasury Minister of Papua New Guinea, “My recent meeting with World Bank Vice-President Manuela Ferro was a very productive one. Like many of my discussions with our international friends, there was intense concern about the growing impacts of COVID-19 on PNG. Our friends are worried about both the health and economic impacts, including the loss of jobs and incomes and budget revenues. Some in the opposition pretend that the COVID-19 global pandemic has not affected the economy, but the rest of the rationale world knows that it has caused enormous damage to PNG and the global economy” stated the Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey.
“The World Bank was particularly concerned about “vaccine hesitancy” in PNG. The Treasurer shared how COVID-19 was at the centre of the Marape Government’s current work and outlined the challenges facing the country. He discussed the substantial increases of 27 per cent in health funding from 2018 to 2021, but the difficulties in having the budgeted funds distributed to needed areas. Many health services had not accounted for the funds provided earlier, and there were cash flow difficulties. The World Bank talked of the importance of a consistent, well-structured approach to communications that had helped overcome some of vaccine hesitancy issue in other countries, especially in Africa.
“There was also discussion on the global challenge of climate change. The speech by the Prime Minister at the United Nations was welcomed. PNG clearly was blessed with massive forestry and biodiversity richness. The global community was exploring ways to convert these important resources to practical options to support development. This included “carbon credits” for preserving forests. The meeting highlighted the Prime Minister’s deep commitment to seeing PNG’s natural resources as “the lungs for the region”. The emerging green and blue economies are part of the build back smarter approach of the Marape Government in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. This is why I have welcomed listening to the views of international partners on how to drive this new green/blue agenda, including the integration of the Sustainable Development Goals” stated the Treasurer.
Reference: Papua New Guinea Today (30 October 2021). “PNG , World Bank Discussions focused on COVID-19 and Climate Change : Ling-Stuckey”.
