Polye tells Maru to leave Trade war over Ox & Palm with Foreign Minister

PORT MORESBY: The Opposition today joined the trade dispute PNG and Fiji has been engaged in over a ban the latter has placed on tinned Ox and Palm product.
Its leader Don Polye described the row as an ‘embarrassment for PNG.’
“The Prime Minister and his Trade Minister should leave the matter with the Foreign Affairs Minister, whose department has the capacity and systematic memory to deal with it within the protocols of conventions and agreements.
“It should have easily been dealt with amicably without any complications through the diplomatic channels,” said Mr Polye.
He said PNG is a ‘big bother’ among the Melanesian countries, adding it lodging trade row with Fiji only reflected naivety and incompetency.
“PM O’Neill and his minister should bury their heads in shame.
“I am calling on the Prime Minister to task the Foreign Affairs minister to handle it as it falls within his ambit,” he said.
Polye, a former Foreign Affairs minister, likened PNG’s plan to take retaliatory actions against Fiji’s exports as childish and a knee-jerk reaction.
There, he said, are better ways to address the issue.