PM highlights importance of agriculture and tourism in Independence message

Prime Minister Peter O'Neill has emphasised the importance of agriculture and tourism in his Independence Message.

He said this in his message themed 'Embracing the Future'.

Prime Minister Peter O'Neill receiving a gift from East Sepik Governor Allan Bird in Wewak on Thursday. He is flanked by Maprik MP John Simon, Civil Aviation Minister Alfred Manase and Police Minister Jelta Wong.

"Our country has products that the world wants and needs to buy," O'Neill said.

"This is not just our oil and gas resources, but we have renewable resources that are in high demand.

"Our agriculture sector should be the food bowl of the region.

"We have vast expanses of land, with rich fertile soil that is purely organic.

"We have some of the most amazing tourism sites that people from around the world want to visit.

"But all of this potential is worth nothing if we do not believe in ourselves.

"We must continue to invest in our nation and in our communities.

"This means building the roads that we need to transport our goods to market, to build the airports for our people to travel and to construct the schools that will educate the next generation.

"The only people who can deliver a stronger Papua New Guinea – are Papua New Guineans ourselves.

"As a country we have many friends who are helping us to advance, and we value this support, but we must do things for ourselves and chart our own course.

"We have to have confidence in our potential, we have to make firm decisions on our future and we have to stand by those decisions all the way.

"I give you every commitment, on behalf of our Government, that we will not let your down.

"Each and every day, we will continue to do our best to advance the interests of Papua New Guinea, and continue to deliver real change for our nation."

O'Neill said PNg must prepare its communities to adapt to changes in the modern world.

"This includes dealing with natural disasters brought about by climate change so we can protect our people," he said.

"We must better adapt to the evolving global economy, so that we not only insulate ourselves from economic shocks – but we must take advantage of economic opportunity for our people."