Papua New Guinea’s trade, investment, cultural heritage and tourism opportunities are being showcased at the 35th World Expo in Osaka, Japan.

The PNG Expo’s Commissioner General Gabriel Dusava at Osaka. Credit: John Brooksbank

Papua New Guinea’s trade, investment, cultural heritage and tourism opportunities are being showcased at the 35th World Expo in Osaka, Japan.

The six-month expo, which runs until October 13, is expected to draw 28 million visitors. PNG is among 150 countries and international organisations that are exhibiting at the expo to generate business.

PNG’s expo team is being led by Osaka Expo Commissioner General Gabriel Dusava.

He says: “What makes this event particularly special is that it is occurring in the 50th year of PNG being an independent country, which also means that it is the 50th anniversary of our country’s diplomatic relations with Japan.”

“Our participation is not only a celebration of who we are as a nation, but also a clear statement that PNG is ready to engage with the world. We are proud to share our story, our people and our potential on this global stage.”

Commissioner General Dusava previously served as PNG’s Foreign Affairs Secretary and as the country’s Ambassador to Japan from 2012 to 2017.

He was appointed to the expo role by the PNG Government following a 2024 discussion between Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and PNG’s Prime Minister James Marape about PNG participating in the expo.

Prime Minister Marape was due to visit the expo in late July, shortly after Paradise went to press, with his visit coinciding with PNG’s national day at the expo. (Each country taking part in the expo is allocated a national day, which includes a ceremonial flag-raising.)

Apart from its main pavilion at the expo centre, PNG has an off-site pavilion to facilitate sales, a virtual pavilion on the World Expo’s digital platform, and is running investment roadshows in Osaka and Tokyo.

PNG’s presence at the expo has come together with support and cooperation of private sector companies, as well as government stakeholder agencies, Commissioner General Dusava says. Air Niugini, meanwhile, has provided direct charter flights from Port Moresby to Osaka for PNG delegates and attendees.

World Expos are held every five years in different cities around the world. The expo was last staged in Dubai in 2020 and the next is scheduled for Riyadh in Saudi Arabia in 2030.

The PNG – Japan Friendship

Japan has been a longstanding partner of PNG.

Over the years, technical cooperation has been extended through the Japan International Cooperation Agency, while concessional loans have enabled construction of essential infrastructure such as Port Moresby’s sewerage system, PNG Power’s Ramu grid reinforcement and Lae’s Tomodachi International Airport.

Aid grants helped build the Kavieng Fisheries College in 1974 and have supported small projects such as markets in provincial centres.

The trade balance is in PNG’s favour with exports to Japan in 2023 worth more than US$3 billion, far exceeding the country’s imports.

Existing exports include tuna, LNG and a range of other goods but there is still great potential to expand trade and investment with Japan.

Against this backdrop and the potential to increase this level of trade, the PGK8.6 million cost of PNG’s presence at the World Expo could be considered a worthwhile investment.

This article was first published in the August-October 2025 issue of Paradise, the in-flight magazine of Air Niugini.