The Samoa High Commission, in liaison with the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, worked closely in regards to the Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters visit to Samoa to attend the Pacific Islands Forum Foreign Ministers’ Meeting from the 9th to 11th August 2018.

All the arrangements including logistics of the visit were coordinated through Samoa’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade where a meeting had been held with the Prime Minister of Samoa, Hon. Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi; in lieu of key regional issues discussed during the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Meeting in Nauru in September 2018.

The priority focus of the meeting was on the development of a new regional security declaration, as agreed at the Pacific Islands Forum held in 2017 in Samoa. Other key issues include climate change, ocean management and sustainable development. The New Zealand Government is committed to re-setting New Zealand’s approach to the region, including deepening partnerships with Pacific neighbours with clear focus on the bilateral relations given the Treaty of Friendship with Samoa over the last 56 years.