Minister for Resources and Northern Australia Matt Canavan is today in Papua New Guinea promoting investment and innovation in mining with government representatives from across the Asia-Pacific region.

Minister Canavan is representing the Australian Government at the APEC Ministers Responsible for Mining meeting in Port Moresby.

The meeting will focus on promoting investment and innovation in mining, and address overcoming barriers to innovation-driven growth and inclusion

Minister Canavan said the meeting was a good opportunity to work with the PNG Government and senior representatives from APEC countries on resource-based issues.

“Australia looks forward to working with like-minded economies to develop approaches to building sustainable growth in the mining sector, while minimising impacts on the environment and improving the livelihoods of communities,” he said.

“I will also use the visit to discuss issues of common interest with PNG Ministers.

“The visit program includes meetings with my PNG counterparts, the Minister for Mining, the Hon. Johnson Tuke MP, and the Minister for Petroleum, Hon Fabian Pok MP.

Note: APEC - Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation – is a forum of 21 Asia-Pacific economies: Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; Chinese Taipei; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; People's Republic of China; Peru; Republic of Korea; The Republic of the Philippines; The Russian Federation; Singapore; Thailand; United States of America; and Vietnam. The Ministers Responsible for Mining meeting will be followed by the APEC Women and the Economy Forum in September, the APEC Finance Ministers’ meeting in October and the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week in November.