MCGANN MAKES WAVES IN PORT MORESBY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT MORESBY 000226

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 6/25/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV PP
SUBJECT: MCGANN MAKES WAVES IN PORT MORESBY

CLASSIFIED BY: Thomas Weinz, Charge, Executive, Department of
State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)



CLASSIFIED BY: Thomas Weinz, Charge, Executive, Department of
State.
REASON: 1.4 (b),(d)




1. (U) Summary: EAP/ANP Office Director Steven McGann met with
PNG Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) Permanent
Secretary Lucy Bogari, heads of diplomatic missions, Australian

SIPDIS
High Commission officers, and several other government
officials. He also attended a reception with government and
civil society leaders, gave media interviews, and spoke at the
University of Papua New Guinea. The visit received prominent
positive coverage in local print and broadcast media. End
Summary

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Director McGann Meeting with PNG Foreign Affairs PermSec Bogari

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2. (U) U.S. - PNG BILATERAL RELATIONS: On June 20, Director
McGann met with the embassy country team before calling on PNG
DFAT PermSec Bogari with the Ambassador. Bogari expressed
appreciation for McGann's follow-up on the Pacific Islands
Conference of Leaders (PICL). She stated that "all is well" with
the U.S.-PNG bilateral relationship, and that the Year of the
Pacific initiatives auger well, especially on the bilateral
level.


3. (C REL AUS & NZ) U.S. - PACIFIC REGIONAL RELATIONS; FOCUS ON
FIJI: Director McGann stated that the U.S. strongly supports
the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and wants to increase
coordination on regional issues. McGann stressed the need to
work together and to not let the Melanesian Spearhead Group
(MSG) get in front of the PIF on Fiji issues. Bogari agreed
that the MSG must play a complementary role to the PIF,
especially in Fiji. McGann expressed appreciation for
Ambassador Paki's statement at the PICL [PNG Ambassador to the
U.S. Paki was PNG's head of delegation to the PICL] that PNG
will be part of the PIF Eminent Persons' Group (EPG) process
regarding Fiji.


4. (C REL AUS & NZ) U.S. ASSISTANCE TO PNG: McGann described
the U.S. approach to providing assistance, emphasizing that the
U.S. would focus on creating sustainable individuals, and shared
the possible opportunities in Guam for Pacific Island labor.
McGann stated that the U.S. supports sustainable assistance from
China and Taiwan, but that does not support aid which undermines
good governance and rule of law. He also pointed to the USTR
Trade Seminar as evidence of U.S. commitment in promoting trade
with PNG. Bogari stated that PNG is developing a national
strategy to deal with donors internally, multilaterally, and to
facilitate coordination between donors. Bogari requested U.S.
financial support, through the International Tropical Timber
Organization, for a PNG forest inventory project.


5. (C REL AUS) PNG - AUSTRALIA BILATERAL RELATIONS: McGann and
Bogari discussed PNG-Australia bilateral relations. McGann
stated that while the U.S. and Australia communicate regularly
on regional issues, the U.S. pursues a balanced approach in the
region. Bogari stated appreciation for the U.S. willingness to
hear Pacific views, and appeared tense in describing current
relations with Australia. Bogari mentioned Australian denial of
a request for helicopter support during the elections. Bogari
avoided commenting directly on the Moti affair, but stated that
PNG was trying to talk to the Australian government about issues
that are larger than Moti.

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Meetings with Heads of Diplomatic Missions and Australian High
Commission Staff

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6. (U) MEETING WITH HEADS OF MISSION: Director McGann, the
Ambassador, and DCM met with heads of mission from Australia,
the UK, New Zealand, France, the EU, and Solomon Islands.
Conversation focused on the results of the PICL and core
partners meeting, Fiji, and Guam's future development.

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7. (C REL AUS) MEETING WITH AUSTRALIAN DEPUTY HIGH COMMISSIONER
AND STAFF: Director McGann and the Ambassador spent nearly two
hours at the Australian High Commission meeting with the
Australian Deputy and several political, economic, and AusAID
officers. Discussions focused on the upcoming elections, PNG
economic development, and the role of U.S. assistance. The
Australians believe that Prime Minister Somare and his National
Alliance Party are best-placed to form the next government. One
Australian analyst described generational change as a "false
hope," while other Australian officers described the PNG public
service as a "totally dysfunctional blob" that is great at
planning but appalling at implementation. On the topic of
economic development assistance, the AusAID officer present
agreed that the PNG government is making a greater effort to
coordinate donor assistance, and stated that Australia is
working to link aid more deeply to policy dialogue. He also
stated that AusAID will continue to invest more in developing
PNG leaders, with a priority on scholarships.

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Other Meetings and Public Diplomacy Events

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8. (U) MEETINGS WITH PNG DEFENCE FORCE COMMANDER AND ASSISTANT
POLICE COMMISSIONER: Director McGann met separately with the
commander of the PNG Defence Force (PNGDF) and the Assistant
Commissioner (Operations) of the Royal PNG Constabulary (RPNGC).
These meetings focused on current and future U.S. support for
the military and police forces and on regional, local, and
election security. McGann suggested the embassy and the RPNGC
explore training programs available to international students
through the National Sheriff's Association


9. (U) CIVIL SOCIETY AND CHIEF OMBUDSMAN MEETING: Director
McGann and the Ambassador met with the Chief Ombudsman, the
director of the PNG Institute of National Affairs (INA) [a
privately-funded public policy think tank], and representatives
of Transparency International-PNG to discuss the current state
of governance and anti-corruption efforts in PNG. Participants
discussed the structural and social impediments to good
governance, with a focus on the upcoming elections.
Participants in the discussion stressed the impact of corrupt
practices on the electoral process; the buying of votes through
direct payments to individuals and through the donation of
money/services to local churches, schools, and clinics is
commonplace.




10. (U) HIV/AIDS BRIEFING: Director McGann was briefed on the
current state of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in PNG by PNG health
department officials, WHO officers, and the director of Family
Health International (FHI),the organization which implements
the USAID-funded AIDS program. In a separate meeting, FHI staff
briefed McGann on the progress of the USAID program.


11. (U) PUBLIC DIPLOMACY EVENTS & FINAL RECEPTION: Director
McGann spoke and answered questions for over one hour as part of
the UPNG Vice Chancellor's Lecture Series. The acting Vice
Chancellor hosted the lecture, which was attended by over 100
faculty, students, members of the diplomatic community, and
interested citizens. McGann's remarks on U.S. investment in the
people of the Pacific and bilateral relations with PNG were
well-received. McGann also visited the National Broadcasting
Corporation (NBC) offices for a taped radio interview, which
focused on PICL results and Fiji. Excerpts of this interview
aired nationwide. The Ambassador hosted a final reception in
honor of Director McGann, which was attended by representatives
of the government, the media, the diplomatic community, and
civil society. Director McGann's visit had a very positive
impact on embassy relations with the government and people of
Papua New Guinea.
WEINZ