Australia has a strong and longstanding relationship with Samoa. We are close partners in regional cooperation and are working together to further Samoa's development and its recovery from the impacts of COVID-19.

There are deep ties between our communities, especially through sport, educational and church linkages, and over 75,000 people living in Australia identify as having Samoan ancestry.

A strong and enduring relationship

Australia and Samoa have a broad bilateral relationship that includes security cooperation, people-to-people links and trade investment.

More about Samoa

Supporting Samoa's response to COVID-19

Australia will work with partners to strengthen Samoa’s health system to respond to COVID 19 and public health crises, and to manage future disease outbreaks. We will also support Samoa to maintain stability, promote social cohesion and ensure vulnerable people have access to essential goods, services and opportunities. A key priority will be supporting Samoa to mitigate and recover from COVID 19’s economic impacts and enhance its resilience to future shocks.

More about Australia's development assistance program in Samoa

AUSMAT deployment to assist Samoa’s measles outbreak.

Security cooperation

Australia is committed to supporting Samoa's security, including through the Defence Cooperation Program, the Pacific Maritime Security Program and the Samoa-Australia Police Partnership. The Australian Defence Force will continue to build Samoa’s capability to police its borders and secure its exclusive economic zone, including fisheries, supported by the gifting of a new Guardian class Patrol Boat in 2019. The Australian Federal Police will continue to engage with the Samoa Police Service to strengthen core policing functions and bolster organisational leadership, management, and corporate capabilities, broadly and in priority areas (for example, addressing gender-based violence).

More about shared security in the Pacific

Strong community connections

Samoans and Australian have strong personal connections, developed through sport, church and educational linkages, and Samoan communities in Australia. Initiatives such as PacificAus Sports and the Australia Pacific Church Partnerships program provide opportunities for increased exchanges, strengthened people-to-people links and institutional partnerships.