Australian Prime Minister Hon. Anthony Albanese visited the tomb of the founding Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea, Sir Michael Somare, at Kreer Heights in Wewak on Friday, January 13, 2023.
PM Albanese was accompanied by PNG PM and Pangu Pati Leader, Hon. James Marape, to the tomb of Sir Michael, who died in 2021.
The Australian Labor Party (ALP) PM was welcomed by grandchildren of Sir Michael, took part in a traditional cleansing ceremony in which a coconut was split by a landowner leader and the water poured on the ground for him to walk on, laid a wreath on the tomb of Sir Michael, planted a coconut tree to mark his visit, signed the Visitors' Book, and then talked to the media with PM Marape.
This was the first visit by an Australian Prime Minister to PNG since PM Marape's ascension to the Office of Prime Minister on May 30, 2019.
It was also special in that at the time of Independence in 1975, the ALP led by the late Gough Whitlam was in Government in Australia, while the Pangu Pati led by the late Sir Michael Somare was in Government in PNG.
Here is a video of the visit of the two Prime Ministers to the tomb of Sir Michael, followed by their talk to the media:
13 янв 2023
