Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern will lead a Parliamentary and community delegation to Apia, Samoa next week to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Friendship, between the two nations.
The Prime Minister said it was an honour to be invited to Samoa to celebrate the friendship and strong partnership the countries had enjoyed over the past 60 years.
“This trip builds on Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa’s visit to Aotearoa New Zealand in June, and provides another opportunity for us to reflect on our shared past and think ahead to a shared future,” said Ms Ardern.
“In 1962, Samoa became the first Pacific nation to achieve independence, after almost 50 fifty years under Aotearoa New Zealand’s administration.
“Two months later, the Treaty of Friendship was signed, committing both governments to working together to promote the welfare of the people of Samoa, and conduct our relationship in the spirit of close friendship; the Treaty remains the guiding light for our way forward.”
The Treaty of Friendship was signed by Samoa’s first Prime Minister, Fiame Mata’afa Faumuina Mulinu’u II, CBE — father of Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa — on 1 August 1962.
The centrepiece of Prime Minister Ardern’s visit will be a reception in commemoration of the Treaty of Friendship.
The PM will travel with Minister of Arts, Culture and Heritage, Carmel Sepuloni; Minister of Pacific Peoples, Aupito William Sio, Leader of the Opposition Christopher Luxon, representatives from each political party in Parliament and a delegation of Aotearoa New Zealand and Pacific leaders.
The PM and delegation will depart Auckland on the morning of Monday 1 August and return in the evening of Tuesday 2 August.
