Prime Minister Hon. James Marape has announced today that Papua New Guinea’s ‘bid’ to once more host the Asia-Pacific Economic Leaders’ Summit has successfully been accepted by the APEC membership for the year 2033.
Prime Minister Marape made the revelation as he commended his envoy to the 2025 APEC, Deputy Prime Minister Hon. John Rosso, for leading the PNG delegation and for expressing PNG’s interest to host the summit.
“It was a good meeting for us. Our presence was evident. I want to announce to our country that the APEC secretariat has accepted our bid to host APEC 2033,” he said.
The Prime Minister made the announcement at his departure press conference early this morning to Sydney enroute to Brazil for the United Nations climate summit, COP30.
APEC meetings are hosted by a different member economy each year on a voluntary, rotational basis, with the selection process largely based on consensus among all 21 member economies. However, the selection for host is not a competitive public ‘bidding’ system in the traditional sense, but an internal co- ordination and agreement process involving voluntary offers, consensus decision and advance planning.
The consensus for PNG as host in 2033 will make it the second time PNG will host the APEC Leaders’ Summit after 2018.
Prime Minister Marape also revealed that PNG is posed to host the United Nations Oceans Conference – widely known as the ‘global oceans conference’– in 2030, as the country prepares to deposit its ratification at the UN next year to reserve up to 30 percent of its ocean spaces for conservation.
“We are hosting a oceans economic ministers’ forum next year. This is a precursor to 2030, where there is a high possibility that PNG will host the global oceans conference, similar to the one we attended in Nice, France last year. We have put our hands up for it and France and many of our partner nations have offered us support,” said Prime Minister Marape.
“Hosting the global oceans conference is confirmation by the global community of the role PNG plays in the world in biodiversity, ocean resource management, and forest management.”
The Prime Minister has also revealed that Papua New Guinea will support Australia in its bid to host COP31 next year as part of the Pacific family of nations and Australia’s closest bilateral partner.
“The 2030 Global Oceans Conference, the APEC 2033, and our NRL team entering competition in 2028 are part of the new things shaping up PNG in the life after 50th anniversary. PNG is firmly placed in the global family of nations. Our nation is entrenched as a major forest, ocean and biodiversity country, and fighting for an equal place as an economy ready to do business with all economies. The world now clearly knows who we are,” he said.