Samoa Country Brief
Introduction
Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian Pacific country located between 15 and 10 degrees south of the equator, Northeast of Fiji. In 1962, Samoa became the first Pacific island country to achieve independence. It is a stable parliamentary democracy with certain concessions to local cultural practices.
Political Overview
Government
Samoa's Head of State is His Highness Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi, who was elected by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) in June 2007 for a five-year term.
The NLA is elected under universal suffrage for five year terms. All but two of the 49 seats are reserved for matai, who are the recognised chiefs of Samoan villages. The remaining two are chosen by non-Samoan citizens from a separate electoral roll. All laws passed by the Legislative Assembly require approval of the Head of State.
The Samoan Government is administered by the Cabinet, which consists of the Prime Minister and 12 Ministers that he selects. All other Government MPs are regarded as associate ministers. The current Prime Minister is the Hon Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi MP. He has been Prime Minister since 23 November 1998.
Samoa has an independent judiciary, including a specific court to resolve disputes over land and traditional titles.
Recent Political Developments
In elections held on 31 March 2006, the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP), which has governed Samoa since 1982, was returned to power with an increased majority. It now holds 35 of the 49 parliamentary seats.
Samoa's parliament does not have a formal opposition. The Samoa Democratic United Party (SDUP) was formerly the main opposition party, but parliament withdrew that recognition after SDUP in-fighting in late 2006 resulted in a split, leaving the party without the minimum number of MPs necessary to be recognised as a party under standing orders.
In April 2008, two HRPP members resigned from the party and became independents. They have banded together with other independents (former SDUP members) to form a new political party, the Tautua Samoa party (TSP). The TSP is currently not recognised by the parliament due to standing orders stating that members need to be elected under the banner of a party before the party can be recognised in by parliament. The TSP plans to provide a new and united opposition going in to the next general election in 2011. In July 2008, another new party called the Peoples Party (TPP) was also formed.
Foreign Relations
Samoa is an active member of the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), which is based in Samoa. The Pacific regional office of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is also located in Apia as are regional offices of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The Pacific Transnational Crime Coordination Centre relocated to Apia (from Suva) in January 2008.
Samoa applied for membership of the World Trade Organisation on 15 April 1998, and has since made offers on goods and services to other WTO Members. The accession Working Party circulated its first draft report on progress in the negotiations in November 2006. Negotiations have recently been reinvigorated to resolve outstanding market access and other issues in an effort to complete the process as soon as possible. A WTO bilateral agreement between Samoa and Australia was signed on 3 April 2009 by the Minister for Trade, the Hon Simon Crean MP, and Samoan Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Misa Telefoni Retzlaff.
Samoa has supported the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI), deploying a small group of police since RAMSI's inception in July 2003. It also has police deployed on peacekeeping operations in East Timor, Sudan and Liberia.
Economic Overview
Samoa has a small and developing economy and has performed well economically in recent years. In 2008, GDP was US$537 million with GDP per capita estimated at US$5,735 and real GDP growth at 4.5 per cent in 2008 (all figures IMF forecasts). The United Nations reviewed Samoa's Least Developed Country status in March 2006, and in December 2007 recommended graduation to Developing Country status in 2010.
Historically, the economy had been based on primary industries such as agriculture and fishing but their proportion of GDP has declined steadily for decades. Around 22,000 people were in formal paid employment in 2007. This figure does not include an estimated 3,000 Samoans working in the fish cannery industry in American Samoa. A large proportion of the population is employed informally and works in subsistence agriculture or low-level commercial ventures.
In 2008, remittances to Samoa from the Samoan communities in New Zealand, Australia the USA and elsewhere totalled approximately A$176 million. New Zealand contributed the highest share (35.9%) to total remittances. The second largest contributor was the United States (26.0%), with remittances from Australia ranked third (20.7%). The tourism sector has also been growing steadily over the past few years. Foreign development assistance in the form of loans, grants and direct aid is an important component of the economy. Samoa is reliant on foreign imports and has a large trade deficit. Its indigenous exports consist mainly of fish and agriculture products.
Samoa's private sector is dominated by Yazaki Samoa, a company producing wire harnesses for motor vehicles which comprise the bulk of Samoa's exports to Australia. Yazaki receives concessional access to the Australian market under the South Pacific Regional Trade and economic Agreement (SPARTECA). Yazaki is Samoa's largest private sector employer, with approximately 1,500 workers.
Polynesian Blue, a joint venture airline between Virgin Blue, the Government of Samoa and a Samoan business, commenced operations in 2005. The airline is profitable and the venture has helped to free up government funding that had in the past been used to support the state-owned Polynesian Airlines. Polynesian Airlines has now been downsized to a regional and domestic role.
Bilateral Relations
Australia's relations with Samoa are strong and productive, underpinned by our aid and defence cooperation programs as well as good people-to-people links. Australia's first representative was accredited in 1971 and a High Commission was established in Apia in 1977.
Australia is a significant development partner for Samoa and the largest grant donor, providing approximately 30 per cent of direct bilateral aid. The aid relationship between Australia and Samoa is robust, assisted by strong Samoan Government commitment to development and public sector reform and the past achievements of Australian aid.
The estimated total aid budget for 2009-10 is estimated at $32.4 million, with $22 million programmed bilaterally and $8.7 million allocated from regional funds. In support of Samoa's development strategy, the Australian aid program contributes to improvements in: effective and accountable public sector administration; opportunities for employment and investment; enhancing law and justice; education outcomes and opportunities; health outcomes with a focus on primary and preventative health; and management of natural resources.
Following the Port Moresby Declaration by Prime Minister Rudd in March 2008, Australia and Samoa signed a Pacific Partnership for Development at the Pacific Islands Forum in Niue on 19 August 2008.
Australia's Defence Cooperation Program (DCP) with Samoa centres on the Pacific Patrol Boat (PPB) program. Australia provided a Pacific Class Patrol Boat to the Samoan Police Service's maritime wing in March 1988. Full-time, in-country Royal Australian Navy maritime surveillance and technical advisers ensure follow-on support for the vessel and the development of indigenous maritime surveillance capabilities. In March 2006, an A$1.7 million Pacific Patrol Boat berthing facility, constructed under the Defence Cooperation Program, was handed over to the Government of Samoa. The Defence Cooperation Program also funded the construction of an armoury and magazine at the new Samoa Police Service Headquarters, a project managed by AusAID and opened in February 2008.
The bilateral relationship is enhanced by regular high-level visits. Samoa's Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi, visited Australia as a Guest of Government in July 2008. The Minister for Home Affairs, the Hon Bob Debus MP, visited Apia to open the Pacific Transnational Crime Coordination Centre on 9 June 2008. The Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, the Hon Duncan Kerr SC MP, and the Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance, the Hon Bob McMullan MP, have visited Samoa on a number of occasions December 2007. More recently, Samoa's Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Misa Telefoni Retzlaff, visited Australia in March 2009, while Australia's Minister for Trade, the Hon Simon Crean MP, and the Hon Bob McMullan MP visited Apia in April 2009. Australia's Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon Stephen Smith MP, also visited Samoa on 2-3 June 2009.
The former Governor-General, His Excellency Major General Michael Jeffery AC CVO MC, represented Australia at the funeral of Samoan Head of State, His Highness Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II, in Apia on 18 May 2007.
Samoa and Australia enjoy strong people-to-people links. An increasing number of Australians are visiting Samoa each year as tourists, while the number of Samoans travelling to Australia is also increasing with approximately 4,000 visas being issued in 2008. There are also a range of community and institution-to-institution links. In the 2006 census, 39,992 Australian's identified themselves as being of Samoan ancestry.
Bilateral Economic and Trade Relationship
Samoa, unlike most Pacific island countries, enjoys a balance of trade surplus with Australia, owing to exports of motor vehicle wire harnesses (produced by Yazaki EDS Samoa) to Australia. Australian exports to Samoa in 2007-08 totalled $28 million (principally electrical equipment for circuits, milk and cream, paper and paperboard). Australian imports from Samoa in the same period totalled $91 million (principally electrical distributing equipment).
Samoa has a number of Australian investors including Westpac and ANZ, who operate commercial banks in Samoa and The Fosters Group who own Samoa Breweries.
Visitor Information
The Samoa Immigration website advises that visitors to Samoa do not require an entry permit for stays of less than 60 days, but must have an onward or return ticket and a passport valid for six months or more. An entry permit is required for visits longer than 60 days. Permits can be obtained from the nearest Samoa Consulate General or High Commission.
For information on accommodation and sightseeing options in Samoa, visit the Samoa Visitors Bureau website.
Australians travelling to Samoa are advised to consult the Smartraveller travel advice.
Updated June 2009