The opening of two provincial offices for UN agencies operating in Papua New Guinea, reaffirms the Organization’s commitment to sustainable peace and development, senior officials there have said.  

The new offices are in Tari and Mendi, located in the remote Highlands Region, a mountainous and heavily forested part of the Pacific island nation that is difficult to access. 

Gianluca Rampolla is the UN Resident Coordinator for the country, often referred to by the acronym “PNG”. 

He told Julia Dean at the UN Information Centre in Australia, how the new investment in the highlands, builds on earlier action to address basic needs after a deadly earthquake in February 2018, and to promote peace in the wake of inter-communal conflict. 

Mr. Rampolla began by describing the Highlands Region.