Samoa’s Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa joined the celebrations for the birthday of His Majesty King of the Netherlands that was hosted in Apia on Tuesday evening.
The Netherlands mark this event as a National Day.
In Prime Minister Fiame’s keynote address at the event, through the Netherland’s Ambassador to Samoa and New Zealand, His Excellency Adrianus M.M van der Vorst, she conveyed ‘our best wishes for the good health and prosperity of His Majesty, King Willem- Alexander.’
Samoa and Netherlands partnership has spanned more than 40 years since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries in April 1976.
And, according to Prime Minister Fiame, the last 48 years Samoa and Netherlands have ‘maintained close cordial relations based on our shared values of trust and mutual respect’.
Prime Minister Fiame spoke about the several engagements that connect the two countries, touching upon being a small island developing state that Samoa continues to share her experiences with 3 members of the Kingdom of the Netherlands like her, ‘are low-lying small island developing states in the Caribbean; namely Aruba, Curacao and St Maarten.’
These common interests she said, include ways to addressing the ‘existential threat of climate change, natural disasters and building resilience to the impacts of sea-level rise and other challenges of sustainable development’.
She acknowledged with appreciation the various support provided by the Netherlands to Samoa, including, ‘the European Union under the NDICI (en-dickie) financing modality to our Water and Sanitation Sector as well as the Spotlight Initiative and through the Civil Society Support Program’.
The Prime Minister also spoke about the priority placed by the Netherlands to SIDS through the provision of financial support for capacity building through training, scholarship programmes under the Fellowship Programme offered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for water professionals to undertake Master of Science at the IHE Delft Institute and the Blue Diplomacy training for career diplomats at the Clingendael – Institute of International Relations.
These programs aim on enhancing the knowledge and skills of mid-career SIDS officials in specific water related issues, education, the blue economy, economic oceans diplomacy, and other related focal areas for sustainable development.
“The Netherlands has also contributed to the voluntary trust fund for the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) to assist the participation of SIDS including Samoa to the preparatory meetings and the inter-governmental conference to develop a legal instrument for conservation and the sustainable use of marine resources,” she said.
And, Samoa and The Netherlands continue to collaborate on matters of mutual interests at the United Nations supporting each other ‘for elections at the United Nations and other international organizations that we share membership in’.
Addressing His Excellency, Prime Minister Fiame said there was potential for future collaboration in sports programs that will enhance women’s participation in rugby and football.
“Women in Samoa play a very active role in the various areas of sports development from administration to technical areas of coaching and refereeing in the various sport codes.”
She expressed her belief that the relations between the two countries shall strengthen over time as they explore new areas of collaboration that are mutually beneficial.
“I wish the Netherlands happy celebration of its National Day.”
And before closing she acknowledged the contribution of Taimalie Ernest Betham as the Honorary Consul of the Netherlands in Apia to the promotion of culture and friendship between our two countries.
Authored by Jasmine Netzler-Iose