Fiamē Naomi Mata’afa will be in Australia this week to discuss Samoa’s mutual partnership and regional cooperation goals with Anthony Albanese.
The Samoan PM will be in Australia from 20-25 March as a guest of the federal government.
In a statement, Albanese said the meetings with his Samoan counterpart would focus on a peaceful, prosperous and resilient Blue Pacific.
He also acknowledged the extent to which climate change issues dominated the challenges facing the Pacific, noting Australia was committed to working with Samoa on resilience and on sustainable development measures.
“I look forward to welcoming prime minister Fiamē to Australia and strengthening our cooperation in areas including economic development, labour mobility, climate and regional security,” Albanese said.
🇼🇸 Prime Minister of Samoa, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, joined the Australian High Commission in the UK to discuss supporting #SmallIslandStates to achieve #NetZero emissions by 2050 and taking action on climate change. 🌏🌊
SOURCE: Australian High Commission in Samoa pic.twitter.com/CgDc6tRQRv
— Government of Samoa (@samoagovt) March 16, 2023
This will be the first official trip Samoa’s PM has made to Australia since 2019. Mata’afa was recently in the UK, where she met with King Charles III and the Commonwealth Secretary-General.
Albanese added Samoa and Australia enjoyed strong personal links with nearly 98,000 people of Samoan descent calling Australia home.
“I am delighted to welcome Prime Minister Fiamē Naomi Mata’afa to Australia,” the PM said.
“As members of the Pacific family, Australia and Samoa share a special bond based on a long history of cooperation and kinship.”
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