More than 50,000 people have been left displaced in Papua New Guinea following a series of earthquakes. Papua New Guinea's Minister of Foreign Affairs is in New Zealand to discuss relief efforts.
Approximately 140 people died after the first quake hit Papua New Guinea a month ago.
Papua New Guinea’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Rimbink Pato says, "Because of the remoteness of the localities people are based and live, we don't have the up to date statistics of exactly what's happened and who's affected".
Pato is in New Zealand and says he has come to thank the government for the aid provided to them.
"New Zealand has been able to quickly and efficiently mobilise to support a neighbour in need".
New Zealand initially committed $500,000 and a C130 Hercules to take emergency supplies to PNG followed by a further $3mil to help recovery efforts on the ground.
The Chairman of the New Zealand Papua New Guinea Business Council, Tamati Norman says,”There's a lot of work. We need to address the present issues and we need to look at the rebuilding efforts which will take place sometime after we have a final assessment".
Norman is currently rallying support for an aid mission which is set to take place later this year.
"The aim is to raise $6,000 which isn't a huge amount of money, but to have a plane in the air flying out to villages where there are medicines not currently reaching," says Norman.
Pato is meeting with Winston Peters today ahead of his speech at the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs.