The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape has urged Australia to not "give up" on his country during an historic address to the federal parliament.
On Thursday morning, Mr Marape became the first Pacific leader to address the joint sitting of both houses, with MPs and Senators packing into the lower house to listen.
The prime minister dwelt heavily on the shared history between Australia and Papua New Guinea, paying tribute to prime minister Gough Whitlam who helped shepherd his country to independence almost 50 years ago.
"It was from this parliament that many decisions were made that have helped and shaped what Papua New Guinea was before 1975, and what Papua New Guinea is after 1975," Mr Marape said.
"This is why Papua New Guinea has a very special and very unique relationship with Australia. We are the only country Australia has birthed."
He acknowledged that Papua New Guinea continues to grapple with profound social and economic difficulties in the wake of riots that gripped the capital Port Moresby just last month, but declared that his government was intent on overhauling the public sector, police force and judiciary in order to improve stability.
"It is true our people need greater empowerment in many aspects of their life. But not all is bad. Not all is bad," he told the joint sitting.
"Nearly 50 years on, our democracy remains strong as ever …. we have not fallen to the barrel of the gun as many emerging nations."
Australia has extended multiple loans and grants to Papua New Guinea worth billions of dollars to help support its budget bottom line and develop its infrastructure, and last year the two nations struck a security pact which will see Canberra plough a further $200 million into developing PNG's police force and judiciary.
Mr Marape said PNG's leaders had to deal with a vast and inaccessible landscape, widespread illiteracy and a large and hugely diverse population.
"As I visit you today, I ask you — do not give up on Papua New Guinea," the prime minister said.
"We have always bounced back from our low moments and we will continue to grow, learning from every low moments and every high moments."
Mr Marape has repeatedly spoken about the critical need to expand PNG's economic base and cut its dependency on development assistance, and he struck a similar theme on Thursday morning.
"Papua New Guinea must not continue to be an aid grant receiving nation, a nation that is borrowing every year to survive," he told the joint sitting.
"We must become a strong country standing on our own two feet economically independent and strong so we too can help Australia maintain democracy, preserve peace and ensure stability in our part of planet Earth, in our Pacific."
The prime minister also drew a laugh when describing Australia and PNG as siblings which were joined at the hip.
"One is stuck with family forever … our two countries are stuck with each other. We have no choice but to get along."
New era of cooperation
Loading...Anthony Albanese welcomed Mr Marape to parliament with his own speech, which also focused heavily on the shared history between the two nations.
Mr Albanese said Australia was proud of its role granting PNG independence, but also said that independence was not a "gift" from Australia, but a right asserted by the people of Papua New Guinea.
"It was an act of great courage, profound national unity. And a statement of self-belief as well as self-determination," he said.
"It sent a message to our region then, it stands as an example to our region now.
"It speaks for a universal truth: every Pacific nation, big and small, has the right to shape its own future and secure its own destiny."
Mr Marape and Mr Albanese held joint talks after the address as both nations work on implementing the security pact the leaders signed last year in an effort to bolster PNG's police and judiciary.
Mr Albanese said in parliament that the agreement marked "the beginning of a new era of cooperation between our nations spanning defence, policing and border and maritime security" and that Australia wanted to help PNG "secure" its future "as your primary partner".
Australia remains intent on stopping China from expanding security ties with Pacific Island nations, and earlier this week PNG's foreign minister ruled out signing a new policing and security pact with Beijing.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton made a thinly veiled reference to China in his welcoming remarks for Mr Marape, warning against "emboldened autocrats … who have no hesitation in using inducement, coercion and outright force against other nations".
"These autocrats who use the carrot one day and the stick the next, have a complete disregard for sovereignty, for law, and liberty," Mr Dutton said.
Mr Marape also faces a potentially tumultuous political environment on his return to PNG, with opposition MPs flagging a likely no confidence motion in the prime minister as soon as next week.