Ministers discuss Manus detention closure

Australian and Papua New Guinea foreign ministers have discussed the closure of the Manus Island detention centre during a bilateral meeting in Canberra.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Papua New Guinea Foreign Minister Rimbink Pato. Source: Twitter

The pending closure of the Manus Island detention centre was on the agenda when Foreign Minister Julie Bishop met her Papua New Guinea counterpart.

Rimbink Pato raised the plight of 560 refugees in PNG who do not want to resettle in his country and are seeking to be sent elsewhere, during his meeting with Ms Bishop in Canberra on Tuesday.

Mr Pato told the ABC he was also seeking free visas on arrival arrangements for PNG citizens travelling to the mainland, in light of Australians being granted that measure earlier this year.