O LE FALA FOLASIA I LO TA VA (The Map that Guides Us)

The Government of Australia (Australia) and the Independent State of Samoa (Samoa) today commit, as sovereign countries, to a respectful partnership of mutual benefit and shared values.

We celebrate the interconnectedness of our people and cultures, based on a long history of personal, community and institutional ties, and we commit to building our social integration, including through the Samoan diaspora in Australia and the Australian diaspora in Samoa.

We recognise each other's integral role in the region, as part of the Pacific family, with shared stewardship of the Blue Pacific continent that we each call home. We commit to work together in the Pacific way to build a stronger, more cohesive Pacific as set out in the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent. We stand together to address key challenges facing the Pacific region and beyond, including the climate crisis, and commit to work together to achieve sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and long-term growth and development for our peoples as articulated in our respective national development strategies.  

Our cooperation will be guided by the following principles:

• we will engage with trust, and invest time in understanding each other's challenges, needs and priorities
• we will respect each other as individual sovereign states
• we will work in an inclusive, considered and sustainable way to achieve lasting outcomes that benefit the people of both our countries.

We acknowledge the breadth of our partnership and commit to strengthen cooperation through strategic alignment in our diplomatic, development and economic engagement across five priority areas:

• climate and disaster resilience
• security cooperation
• economic growth and partnerships
• human and social development (including in the areas of health, education, gender, disability and social protection)
• people to people linkages (including through sport).

Samoa and Australia recognise that our respective national interests are served by a strong and enduring bilateral partnership and a peaceful, prosperous and resilient Pacific. Our cooperation under this partnership is outlined in Annex A.

Signed in Canberra on 22 March 2023.

ANNEX A

1. As members of the Pacific family, Australia and Samoa commit to working with all countries of the Pacific to achieve our shared aspirations and address shared challenges. We will be guided by Pacific priorities, including those articulated in the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent endorsed by Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) Leaders in 2022.
2. Samoa and Australia respect the centrality of the PIF and will encourage members to speak with one voice for the Pacific in the global context.
3. We commit to advance our shared priorities and pursue complementary actions on climate and disaster resilience, regional security, economic growth, and human and socio-economic development, through bilateral, regional and global partnerships, including through our shared membership of the Council of Regional Organisations in the Pacific (CROP), namely the PIF, the Pacific Community, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, the University of the South Pacific and the Forum Fisheries Agency.
4. We commit to work together with Pacific partners, including Partners in the Blue Pacific and PIF Dialogue Partners, to shape their support to Pacific Institutions and priorities, strengthen regional coordination and integration, and enhance service delivery by CROP agencies.

Pillar One: Climate and disaster resilience

5. In line with the Boe Declaration on Regional Security, Samoa and Australia acknowledge that climate change mitigation and adaptation are key priorities for improving the livelihoods, security and wellbeing of the peoples of the Pacific.
6. We recommit to the objectives of the Kainaki II Declaration and the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, and will strengthen cooperation on climate and disaster resilience across our partnership.
7. We commit to implementing our ambitious 2030 targets and driving our transitions to net zero.
8. Samoa and Australia will work together to enhance our capacity to respond to humanitarian and natural disasters, pandemics and global crises affecting the region and strive to be the first regional responders in times of need.
9. We will collaborate on inclusive renewable energy generation, climate and disaster resilient infrastructure and the sustainable development, management and conservation of the Blue Pacific and its resources.
10. We respect and value indigenous practices and knowledge, and will work together to share scientific, technological and cultural knowledge that can assist in the mitigation and adaptation of climate change and help to build our resilience.

Pillar Two: Security Cooperation

11. Samoa and Australia share a commitment to working together, with the Pacific family and regional partners, to ensure a peaceful, prosperous and resilient Pacific region.  We reaffirm our commitment to a Pacific-family-first approach to peace and security as agreed by Forum Leaders at the 51st PIF Leaders Meeting.
12. Secure territories are the foundation of national prosperity and stability of Samoa and Australia. In addition to our support for human security, environmental security and regional cooperation in building resilience to disasters and climate change under the Boe Declaration on Regional Security, Samoa and Australia will further strengthen security cooperation, as follows.  
13. We commit to regular bilateral discussions on security issues encompassing all elements of the Boe Declaration on Regional Security.
14. We will deepen information sharing and training cooperation, through a number of mechanisms, including the Pacific Police Development Program, the Pacific Transnational Crime Coordination Centre, and the Pacific Fusion Centre to enhance Samoa's border management and maritime surveillance capacity to respond to threats such as illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, illicit drugs, cyber security and transnational crime.
15. Our partnerships in policing, maritime and border security will continue to build leadership and operational capacity within the region, including through the Pacific Maritime Security Program, Defence Cooperation Program and the Samoa-Australia Police Partnership.
16. We recognise cyber security is a challenge for the region and acknowledge the need to maximise the protections and opportunities for our two countries in the digital age. We commit to work together to champion a safe, secure and prosperous region enabled by a secure cyberspace and critical technology, including through continued capacity building and cooperation.

Pillar Three: Economic growth and partnerships

17. Australia recognises long-term commitments and predictability are important to effective planning and sustainable change. Australia will support Samoa's development objectives through two long-term flagship bilateral investments: Tautua - Human Development for All, and Tautai - Governance for Economic Growth.
18. Samoa and Australia share a common vision for prosperity, including through two-way open and transparent trade, research and private sector innovation, investment, commercial opportunities, productive and transformative agricultural and fisheries and food systems, resilient infrastructure, labour mobility and sustainable tourism.
19. We acknowledge the important contribution labour mobility makes to the economy of both our countries. We commit to maximise the benefits of labour mobility and minimise any negative impacts on families and businesses domestically in Samoa.
20. We determine that infrastructure cooperation critical to driving productivity and prosperity should contribute to high-quality, sustainable and climate resilient projects that meet genuine need, create jobs, enhance economic wellbeing, improve skills and provide opportunities for Samoan businesses and workers to engage in the local economy.
21. Samoa and Australia commit to closer regional economic integration. We will work together, and with the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations Plus (PACER Plus) Implementation Unit based in Apia, to drive the implementation of PACER Plus, facilitating the flow of goods, services, capital and people across signatory countries. We will collaborate on biosecurity and market access to enhance trade flows.
22. We will maintain close communication and cooperation as we shape our policies and institutions to drive inclusive and sustainable economic growth, including working closely with development partners through the Joint Policy Action Matrix dialogue. We will further advance economic reforms to achieve sustainable growth and prudent debt management.

Pillar Four: Human and Socio-economic development

23. Development cooperation between our two countries will advance a shared vision of a prosperous and stable region, committed to strengthen health infrastructure, build better health security, and shape a strong recovery from pandemics, including COVID-19, and build resilience in the face of natural disasters. Partnering on health systems, food and nutrition security, social protection, economic growth, skills development to provide better access to existing and future jobs, and labour mobility will contribute to ongoing recovery.
24. Australia will work with Samoa to strengthen its governance capability through potential reforms, capacity building and institutional linkages, strengthening information sharing and knowledge base and by working with a range of partners including civil society.
25. Education, training and research are an important part of Samoa and Australia's partnership. We will continue to assist Samoan students to study at Australian and regional educational institutions and vocational training centres through the Australia Awards scholarship programs.
26. We commit to mainstreaming gender equality, women's empowerment and social inclusion across all aspects of our cooperation and continue to work together to pursue recommendations outlined in the UNHRC's third Universal Periodic Review of Samoa (2 November 2021), particularly those relating to women, children, youth and people with disabilities.
27. We recognise the importance of supporting and advancing regional commitments, including in a revitalised Pacific Leaders Gender Equality Declaration, and we will encourage accountability through governance mechanisms such as the PIF Women Leaders' Meeting.
28. We will jointly advocate for improved gender balance in leadership positions across the region, including in CROP agencies. 
29. Samoa and Australia will expand cooperation to address the impacts of pandemics, including COVID-19, on women and girls, promote inclusion of people with disabilities and work together to elevate consideration of gender equality in the Pacific Islands Forum.
30. Australia will work with Samoa to ratify and implement any anti-discrimination, disability inclusion and other relevant human rights conventions.

Pillar Five:  People to people linkages

31. Samoa and Australia determine to strengthen personal connections, including through education and training, sport, faith-based and community organisations and regular dialogue and joint decision-making at the highest levels.
32. We recognise the shared passion for sport between our two countries. We will develop sports programs that contribute to sporting excellence, health, social cohesion, gender equality and disability inclusion outcomes. The PacificAus Sports Regional Hub in Apia represents the close partnership our countries share in developing the region's elite sports men and women.
33. We acknowledge the role of cultural, social and faith-based organisations in maintaining connections and providing vital community services in both countries. We will build and strengthen these connections though programs that encourage exchange, promote cooperation and enhance genuine and durable partnerships.
34. We will explore opportunities to share Australian First Nations people's and Samoan perspectives, knowledge and practices, including through exchanges.
35. We commit to holding regular bilateral meetings at leaders and ministerial level. We will hold annual senior official talks between our two countries, with reciprocal hosting. These will focus on issues of importance to both Samoa and Australia and advance our shared interest in an open, inclusive and resilient region, including economic growth, health security, education, gender equality, social protection, peace, stability and security cooperation and climate change resilience.