As Biden Scraps Historic Visit To Papua New Guinea, Locals Disappointed: 'Prepared Well…We Were All Looking Forward'

Papua New Guineans expressed dismay as U.S. President Joe Biden altered his plans and canceled his scheduled visit to Port Moresby amid crucial debt limit negotiations in Washington. 

What Happened: Residents of Papua New Guinea were disheartened by the sudden change in Biden’s itinerary as Oceania country was preparing for the historic visit — the first by a sitting U.S. president — for the last six months, reported The Guardian.

The country had planned to shut down its airspace as well as to designate next Monday a public holiday to allow residents of the capital city to catch a glimpse of the president. Preparations were underway to close roads and arrange for students and cultural dancing groups to line the route of Biden’s motorcade.

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Prior to the announcement of the change of plans, the front page of the Post-Courier newspaper, PNG’s leading daily, on Tuesday prominently carried a full-page article regarding the arrival of Biden’s security team in anticipation of his visit.

Powes Parkop, the governor of the National Capital District, said, “We are disappointed that this historic visit has been canceled as we have prepared well, spent a lot of time, effort and energy towards the visit, and we were all looking forward to the visit.”

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Why It Matters: Biden was set to visit Papua New Guinea for a three-hour trip on Monday following his participation in the G7 meeting in Japan. However, on Tuesday evening, he decided to cancel the visit to be present in Washington for meetings with congressional leaders. Biden also canceled his travel to Sydney and postponed the Quad meet. 

Meanwhile, Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday edged closer to a deal to avoid a looming U.S. debt default. “It is possible to get a deal by the end of the week,” said McCarthy. 

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