France–Papua New Guinea relations bilateral cooperation between the FANC and PNG's defense forces was approved in November 2004, centered around training for peacekeeping operations. France–Papua New Guinea relations France – Papua New Guinea relations refer to foreign relations between France and Papua New Guinea. Official diplomatic relations were established in 1976. France has an embassy in Port Moresby but Papua New Guinea has no diplomatic representation in France. Papua New Guinea's embassy in Brussels covers France. In 1768, French explorer Louis-Antoine de Bougainville landed at what is now Papua New Guinea during his circumnavigation of the world. He gave his name to an island
Provinces of Papua New Guinea Provinces of Papua New Guinea For administrative purposes, Papua New Guinea is divided into administrative divisions called provinces. Provincial governments are branches of the national government – Papua New Guinea is not a federation of provinces. There are 22 provinces, that includes the autonomous region (Bougainville) and the National Capital District. In 2009, the PNG parliament created two additional provinces, that officially came into being on 17 May 2012. They were Hela Province, which was split from Southern Highlands Province, and Jiwaka Province, which was split from Western Highlands Province. Each province forms a provincial electorate, called a constituency, for