Marape calls for peace at UN Assembly

Speaking at the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York last week, Prime Minister James Marape called on world leaders to put human welfare ahead of war and narrow geopolitical interests.

He urged leaders to choose dialogue and peaceful means to settle disputes and added that decisions made in one country can affect people thousands of kilometers away.

‘’Pollution carried by oceans does not stop at migration points. Wars can disrupt food, fuel, energy, trade, supply chains, far from the battlefield," Marape said.

"Economic decisions made in the world’s largest economy can reach an ordinary family in a small developing country."

He said leaders must remember ordinary families when making major economic decisions, balance commercial interests with the welfare of people, protect our planet while pursuing development, and put the interest of our children’s future generations at the heart of decisions we make today.

Marape said PNG does not claim to have all the answers and that we are still a developing nation.

‘’Few years ago, the country became a middle-income nation. We have our own challenges, but our position as a pacific nation allows us to remind the larger powers of a simple reality, and that is, no nation is so powerful that it can live apart from the earth," he said.

He further stated that no nation is so small that its people should be forgotten when decisions affecting humanity are made.