The governments of Papua New Guinea and New Zealand have signed an agreement on Joint Commitment for Development.
The Post Courier newspaper reports that under the agreement, New Zealand will provide long-term help to sectors like agriculture, electricity, health, scholarships and training, and on Bougainville development projects.
PNG's Foreign Affairs Minister Ano Pala and his New Zealand counterpart Murray McCully signed the agreement on an understanding that both governments will establish a shared vision for achieving long-term development outcomes for the people of PNG.
These outcomes include achieving the Millennium Development Goals, with PNG currently on track to be the only Pacific islands country to fail these UN-established goals on social and human development.
New Zealand has also committed to strengthening PNG's finance and procurement systems.
