Ambassador
Paki presents his credentials to United
State President, the Honorable George
W. Bush.
September 8, 2003.
Ambassador
Paki (back left) with then Deputy
Prime Minister, the Honorable Dr.
Allan Marat (front left), Michael
Wheeler, PNG’s representative
to the London based International
Coffee Organization (front right)
and then Commerce Secretary, Mr. Jonathan
Soten in Cartagena, Columbia.
Ambassador
Paki speaks at a reception in honor
of Sgt. David S. Rubitsky (Ret) in
Milton, Wisconsin
The
Ambassador with Mr. Rubitsky
Ambassador
Paki with other Pacific diplomats,
including Ambassador John Wood of
New Zealand (second from left), at
the National Geographic Building,
venue for the “Pacific Night”,
in Washington DC
Ambassador
Paki with President Vicente Fox of
Mexico, after having presented his
credentials in Mexico City
Ambassador
Paki (with the honoree Fr. John Wald)
speaks at the Chicago occasion honoring
Fr. John Wald.
The
87 year old Father John Wald, SVD,
OBE, thanking the PNG Government for
the OBE medal
Ambassador
Paki with Secretary of State, the
Honorable Collin L. Powell
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2003
September
· Ambassador Paki
presents his credentials to His Excellency,
President George W. Bush and is formally
accredited as the Ambassador of Papua
New Guinea to the United States of
America.
· Ambassador
Paki attends the International
Coffee Organization (ICO) Conference
in Cartagena, Columbia, with then
Deputy Prime Minister of Papua New
Guinea, Hon. Dr. Allan Marat. (ICO
is the official international organization
representing the interest of over
73 producing and consuming nations.
PNG’s arabica coffee, grown
especially in the Highlands of Papua
New Guinea, is recognized as among
the world’s finest coffees.)
· At the General
Assembly sessions in New York, Ambassador
Paki joins Rt. Honorable Sir Rabbie
L. Namaliu, Minister for Foreign Affairs
and Immigration and PNG’s UN
delegates.
October
· Ambassador Paki
attends the Pacific Island Leaders
Conference at the East-West Center
in Honolulu, Hawaii with Minister
for Foreign Affairs and Immigration,
Rt. Hon. Sir Rabbie L. Namaliu. Most
Pacific Leaders, as well as President
George W. Bush and senior U.S. Diplomats
also attended it. (Pacific Islands
Development Program was formed to
assist Leaders of Pacific Island countries
advance their collective efforts to
achieve and sustain equitable social
and economic development consistent
with the goals and aspirations of
the people of the Pacific Islands
nations. For more information on PIDP,
visit http://www.eastwestcenter.org).
2004
February
· Ambassador Paki
is in Port Moresby as a member of
a Government team to work with U.S.-based
investment bankers and international
lawyers in connection with the Government’s
proposed Bond Offering.
· While in
PNG, he is also involved in preliminary
discussions and negotiations with
U.S. diplomats and PNG government
officials on the proposed Article
98 bilateral treaty with the United
States under the Rome
Statute of the International
Criminal Court.
March
· With PNG’s
Minister for Mineral Resources, Hon.
Sam Akoitai and his delegation, Ambassador
Paki attend meetings on mining and
related issues at the World Bank Headquarters.
· The Ambassador
delivers a speech at a reception in
honor of Sgt. David S. Rubitsky, MBE
(retired) in Milton, Wisconsin. The
PNG Government honored Mr. Rubitsky
for his heroic actions and bravery
in the “Battle of Buna”
during World War 2, one of the bloodiest
battles in the entire war in the Pacific.
Mr. Rubitsky –
who was awarded an MBE by Queen Elizabeth
II and the PNG Government is the most
courageous American soldier ever to
have served his country in wartime
New Guinea. Sgt. Rubitsky single-handedly
killed in battle over 500 Japanese
soldiers in the “Battle of Buna”
on December 1 and 2, 1942. Read the
amazing “David
Rubitsky’s story”
April
· Ambassador Paki
attends the International Conference
on Aviation Safety and Security in
Honolulu, Hawaii, with Minister for
Civil Aviation, Hon. Don Poyle, MP
and others.
May
· As Master of Ceremonies,
Ambassador Paki hosts the annual “Pacific
Night” event held at the National
Geographic Society Building in Washington
D.C. (The “Pacific Night”
is an annual gathering of all Pacific
countries, including PNG, Australia,
New Zealand, Hawaii, Guam, American
Samoa, and other U.S. territories
as well as friends of Pacific countries
to showcase and promote the interests
of the Pacific region in the United
States). Among the guests in attendance
is Hon. Eni. F. H. Faleomavaega, a
Member of the U.S. Congress from the
American Samoa and Ranking Member
of the House Committee on International
Relations; Assistant Secretary of
State for East-Asian and Pacific Affairs,
Hon. James A. Kelly; other U.S. Congressmen
and Congresswomen, Pacific diplomats,
former and serving U.S. Ambassadors
to Pacific countries and U.S. State
Department officials and other representatives
of the U.S. Government.
· Ambassador
Paki presents his credentials to His
Excellency, President Vicente Fox
Quesada of Mexico, in Mexico City,
and is concurrently accredited as
PNG’s Ambassador to Mexico.
June
· Minister for Foreign Affairs
& Immigration, Rt. Hon Sir Rabbie
L. Namaliu (with the help of PNG’s
Permanent Representative to the United
Nations, Ambassador Robert Aisi and
his staff in New York) makes a compelling
case to the UN Security Council for
the extension of the Mandate of the
UN Observer Mission to Bougainville
(UNOMB).
· Ambassador
Paki also makes representation to
the highest levels of the U.S. Department
of State. These combined diplomatic
efforts in both Washington DC and
New York, along with the firm support
of the United States, resulted in
a further extension (to December 2004)
of the UNOMB’s mandate on Bougainville
to enable the PNG Government to undertake
crucial functions such as overseeing
the ongoing weapon disposal program,
finalizing the Bougainville Constitution
and preparations for democratic elections
on Bougainville later this year, and
other work, associated with the Bougainville
Peace Process.
July
· Ambassador Paki
interacts with Papua New Guinean and
American citizens at a “4 July”
gathering in Indiana.
August
· On behalf of the Her Excellency,
Queen Elizabeth II, Ambassador Paki
presents the OBE medal to Fr. John
Wald, SVD, in Chicago, in honor of
his distinguished services to education
in PNG, a career that spanned 56 years
in the Highlands and Sepik regions
of PNG.
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