Announcement of Mission to Papua and New Guinea on May 29, 1963

'i\ WORLD .R ' 1818 H STREET, N.W. 1 WASHINGTON 25, 0. C. TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 Bank Press Release No. 63/16 Subject: Mission to Papua For Release AM Newspapers and New Guinea Wednesday, May 29, 1963 An Economic Survey Mission organized by the World Bank, at the request of the Government of Australia, is to review the economic potentialities of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea. The mission will make recommendations to assist the Aus- tralian Government in planning a development program designed to stimulate economic growth of the Territory and raise the standard of living of the people. The mission will arrive in the Territory on June 8 a:fter visits to Canberra and Sydney. It will establish its headquarters in Port Moresby and spend about • three months in the Territory. The mission will assess the resources of' the Territory and the factors affect- ing economic growth. It will examine the effect of current economic, fiscal and administrative policies and recommend measures necessary to secure the most effec- tive rate and pattern of development in both the public and private sectors. The mission will also estimate the amounts of capital, public a.nd. private, likely to be available over the next five yea.rs and will recommend in broad outline the allo- cation of resources to each o·r the principal sectors in accordance with its View of· priorities. Mr. Kenneth R. Iverson, a. staff member of' the Bank, will head the mission, which consists of eight full time and two part time members • The other nine members of the mission (list attached) include economists and advisers on agriculture, education, • public health, industry, power and transport. This is the twenty-second general sur- vey miss ion organized by the Bank to make an economi.c survey o:f a member country or territory.  - 2 - • t • The Australian Territory of Papua is administered by the Government of Austra- lia in an administrative union With the Trust Territory of New Guinea under the title of the Territory of Papua and New Guinea in accordance with terms of the Papua and New Guinea Act (1949-60). The Mission members are: .~(&p_neth R. Iverson - Chief of Mission (Nationality: American) Mr. Iverson joined the Bank staff in the fall of 1959 as a senior loan officer and later became Assistant Director of the Development Services Department. Immediately prior to joining the Bank, he was with the U.S. President's Special Committee to study the Military and Economic Assistance Program of the U.S. Government. Between 1947 a.nd 1959, Mr. Iverson had served as Counselor to the American Mission for Aid to Greece and Deputy Chief of the U.S. Economic Cooperation Administration Mission to Greece; President of the Institute of Inter-American Affairs; and Near East Repre- sentative and Director of the Overseas Development Program of the Ford Founda- tion. • Harinus, van der Mel - Chief Economist (Dutch) Mr. van der Mel has been with the Bank since 1955 and is now Head of the Public Finance and Financial Institutions Section of the Economic Staff. He has had wide experience in econom)ic missions to other member countries. From 1946 to 1955 he was with the Ministry of Finan~e of the Netherlands where he was Chief of the Research Department. P. C. Chambers, C.B.E. - Agricultural Production Adviser (British) Mr. Chambers recently retired from his post as Director of Agriculture and Forestry in Hong Kong, a position he has held since 196o. From 1954 to 196o Mr. Chambers was first Director of Agriculture and then •  - 3 - Adviser on Agriculture for Northern Nig~ria. From 1949 to 1954 he was Director of Agriculture for Cyprus and>prior to that he was a Senior Agricultural Officer in Kenya. f,eona.rd H. S. Emerson - Education Adviser (British) Since January 1963 Mr. Emerson has been Educational. Planning Adviser and Bapporteur on the UNESCO Educational Investment Programing Mission to the Sud.an. He served in the same capacity on a similar UNESCO Mission to Ethiopia in 1962. From 1961 to 1962, Mr. Emerson was Acting Chief of the Education Planning Division of UNESCO. From 1959 to 1961 he was a. UNESCO expert in educational planning in Venezuela and Panama. Earlier, Mr. Emerson was with the British Council as Director of Institutes in Egypt, Palestine, Aden, and Chile and as Representative in Southern kabia. Richard J. Lund - Industry and Power Adviser (American) • Since 1945, Mr. Lund has been with the Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio, successively a;.s Chief of the Engineering Economics Divi- sion, Manager of the Management Service~-:'!Dt?pa.rtment and Assistant Tech- nical Director. While at Battelle, !;fr. Lund was engaged in a variety of industrial development projects a.round the world including projects in Lebanon, Spain and northwest North America. Campbell P. McMeekan, C.B·.E. - Livestock Adviser (New Zealand) (Part time) Mr. McMeekan has been with the Bank sinc.i~' 1962 as an Agriculturalist in the Bank's Technical. Operations Department. From 1943 to 1962 he was Director of the Ruakura Animal Research Station, Hamilton, New Zeal.and. Between 1939 and 1943 he was Professor of Animal Husbandry, Canterbury Agricultural College. He served as Livestock Adviser to the Bank's mis- sion to Uruguay in 1953, an,d as a consultant on Dairy Production w1.th th~_ • Bank-FAQ Mission to yruguay in 1951-52.  - 4 - • Lawrence ~Roberts - Public Health Adviser (British) (Part time) Since 1959, Dr. Roberts ha.s been stationed in Sydney as WHO I s Area Representa- tive. He recently returned from a temporary technical assistance assignment in Hollandia., West New Guinea. Prior to joining WHO Dr. Roberts held a. suc- cession of positionsj serving as a Principal Medical Officer in the British Civil Service and Deputy Commissioner of the Medical. Services, London. Fu~d Studnicki-Gizbert - Transportation Adviser (Canadian) Mr. Studnicki-Gizbert is presently Chief, Economics Division, Air Transport Board, Government of Canada, a position he has held since 1961. From 1954 to 1961, I"1r. Studnicki-Gizbert was first a Research Economist and then Head of the Statistics Section of the Economic Policy Branch, Department of Trans- port of the Canadian Government. He has undertaken several consulting assign- ments, including a study of road needs in Quebec Province a.nd studies in economics of highway transportation. Horst von Oppenfeld - Agricultural Economist (American) Since 1955 Mr. von Oppenfeld has been Visiting Professor from Cornell University • with the Council on Economic and Cultural Affairs at the College of' Agriculture, University of the Philippines. He has also instituted and advised on the Philippine extension program, done survey and advisory work on farm management and land tenure and acted as Head of the Department of Agricultural Economics. He is presently Advisor for the Fa.rm and Home Development Program of the Philippine Government. James Anthony Simmons - Economist (South Rhodesian) M1·. Simmons has been with the Bank since 1959 as an economist in the Western Hemisphere Department, and has been on a series of Bank missions and visits to a number 0£ Latin American countries •. He was transferred to the European Department early in 1963. From 1956 to 1959, he was Principal, Economic Sec- • tion, Department of Prime Minister, Government of the Federation of Rhodesia. and Myasaland.