THE Papua New Guinea High Commission in Honiara says its government paid for Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo’s trip to Port Moresby to attend the special Melanesia Spearhead Group meeting.
Mr Lilo and his delegation left Wednesday for the summit, which was held yesterday.
A spokesman for the High Commission clarified this after a member of the public questioned the purpose of Mr Lilo’s wife travelling with him.
“It is customary for MSG leaders to have their spouses travel with them when attending meetings,” the spokesman said.
“In the case of the meeting which was held in Moresby yesterday, the PNG government covered the cost of travel for the prime minister, his wife, and one official,” he said.
Meanwhile, the spokesman said Mr Lilo was in Moresby for the MSG meeting and not for bilateral talks as stated in a story published in this paper yesterday.
He said bilateral issues such as the K20 million grant assistance from PNG to Solomon Islands, will not be discussed during this trip.
