Papua New Guinea hosted eight leading United States technology firms at the Digital Transformation Summit 2025 in December, signalling a major push in the country’s efforts to modernise its digital economy. The four-day summit brought together global tech expertise with PNG stakeholders, underlining the government’s intent to build a more secure, innovative and digitally enabled future for business and public services.
Representatives from Amazon, Astranis, Cisco, Google, Governful, Oracle, Salesforce and SpaceX showcased insights on emerging tech trends including artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and digital infrastructure. Organised by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the summit focused on aligning private sector capabilities with PNG’s national goals in digital governance and economic diversification.
US Ambassador Ann Marie Yastishock highlighted the importance of commercial diplomacy and trusted tech partnerships in PNG’s growth story. She noted that such engagements help equip local policymakers, businesses and communities with resilient and secure technology solutions while promoting shared priorities for a secure digital economy.
The discussions also touched on digital identity, intelligent government services and cybersecurity frameworks. For local businesses and innovators, exposure to these global players offered rare opportunities to deepen capability and build networks. According to official summaries from the summit, delegates emphasised that adoption of advanced digital tools could help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) accelerate operations, reach customers and access data-driven services more effectively.
The event took place alongside broader reforms led by DICT that include rollouts of digital identity infrastructure and new digital government services. Business leaders and tech practitioners noted that such developments could significantly reduce operational costs and open PNG to global technology investments, including cloud-based platforms and secure digital markets.
