AUSTRALIA BOOSTS ITS LONG-TERM BUDGET SUPPORT TO SAMOA

PRESS RELEASE 21 Feb 2025 – Today, the Governments of Australia and Samoa signed an agreement to increase Australia’s budget support to WST$28 million for the current financial year.

This additional support is part of Australia’s long-term contributions into Samoa’s development spanning over 8-years – from 2023 to 2031 – and totalling WST$187.7 million.

Signed by Australia’s High Commissioner to Samoa, His Excellency Mr William Robinson, and Samoa’s Minister of Finance, the Honourable Lautimuia Uelese Vaai, this support is underpinned by the deep trust the two nations share, and their joint commitment to enhancing service delivery for Samoa’s communities.

“Our signing of this agreement embodies the spirit of trust we have in one another, and an expression of our belief that our prosperity is best pursued together. This will support the Government of Samoa’s expenditure right across the board for things that matter most to Samoans – from paying teacher’s salaries, ensuring hospitals have the supplies they need, and maintaining quality roads,” said High Commissioner Robinson.

“On behalf of the Government and the people of Samoa, I express our heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to the Government and the people of Australia for their continuous support to Samoa’s development. The additional general budget support marks yet another milestone in the trusted-long lasting relationship and development partnership between our two countries – Australia and Samoa. We remain committed to addressing the priority needs of our people, through various initiatives and integrating priorities for development through general budget support. We are also appreciative of the commitment to the JPAM arrangement supporting high impact policies that inform and guide priorities for Samoa,” said Minister Lautimuia.

This additional budget support will contribute to the delivery of essential services that the people of Samoa rely on, including in health, education, gender, disability and social protection.

Australia’s budget support is delivered in partnership with New Zealand, World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the European Union through the Joint Policy Action Matrix (JPAM).

The JPAM is an economic reform agenda that enables best practice development partners to support Samoa’s development destiny with their expertise.

Ends

SOURCE – Australian High Commission to Samoa

March 4, 2025