Samoa Prime Minister Rt Hon Afioga Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa (pictured) will visit Aotearoa New Zealand this month, 60 years after the Treaty of Friendship between the two countries was signed.
Prime Minister of New Zealand Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern says she is delighted Prime Minister Mata’afa’s first official bilateral overseas visit will be to New Zealand.
“Aotearoa New Zealand is first and foremost a Pacific nation and we value the strength of our relationship with our Pacific family,” Prime Minister Ardern says.
Prime Minister Mataʻafa will officially be welcomed on June 14 in a visit which marks 60 years of close diplomatic relations between New Zealand and Samoa, and the 60th anniversary of Samoa’s independence.
She will attend a series of community and official engagements, including meetings with Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern and other Ministers.
This is a significant year for Samoa as it celebrates 60 years of independence on June 1, and 60 years since the signing of the Treaty of Friendship between Samoa and Aotearoa New Zealand on August 1.
“The Treaty underpins our relationship and pledges that both countries work together to promote the welfare of the people of Samoa and was, in fact, signed by Naomi Mataʻafa’s father and Samoa's first Prime Minister, Fiame Mata'afa Faumuina Mulinu'u II,” Prime Minister Ardern adds.
She is looking forward further discussing the key issues affecting the region, development cooperation and our ongoing respective COVID-19 responses with Prime Minister Mata’afa, she adds.
Prior to being elected as the first female of Samoa in Prime Minister in 2021, Prime Minister Mata’afa served as Samoa's High Chieftess, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Women, Community and Social Development, and Minister of Justice.
The Samoan Prime Minister will attend several other engagements in Wellington, Hawke’s Bay and Auckland, including a community gathering with Regional Season Employment workers and a lunch with the Pacific Parliamentary Caucus.