Samoa has signed three new agreements with Australia covering cyber security cooperation and regional policing arrangements, with the Government saying the measures will strengthen national capability and improve access to regional support.
The agreements were outlined in remarks prepared for the signing by Prime Minister Hon Laaulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Fosi Schmidt at Sina Restaurant, Taumeasina, in the presence of Australian Foreign Minister Senator Penny Wong, Cabinet members, senior officials and diplomatic representatives.
The first agreement, the Memorandum of Cyber Cooperation, sets out long-term cooperation between Samoa and Australia on cyber security. According to the Prime Minister’s remarks, the arrangement is backed by AUD$2 million over three years to support Samoa’s cyber priorities.
The speech states that the support will strengthen Samoa’s incident preparedness and response, improve secure digital systems, and support governance frameworks that align with international standards through the SEA PAC Cyber development assistance programme.
“The partnership will strengthen incident preparedness and response, enhance secure digital systems, and support governance frameworks aligned with international standards.” ~ PM
The support is also expected to include new equipment and tools, technical assistance, and participation in international forums.
Two of the agreements relate to policing.
One concerns the Pacific Policing Initiative, which the Prime Minister said is built around three connected pillars: the Regional Centres of Excellence, the Pacific Police Support Group, and the Pacific Policing Coordination Hub.
The purpose of that arrangement is to improve capability and interoperability among the 22 participating police organisations, while also providing a regional mechanism for training, equipment, planning and the conduct of operations.
The other policing agreement sets out arrangements for the Pacific Police Support Group and for Pacific policing deployments. The prepared remarks state that it will establish a framework for participating countries to operationalise a multinational police response capability when requested, and also set out arrangements for requesting and receiving government-to-government policing assistance.
The Prime Minister said Samoa had already seen the value of such cooperation during the hosting of CHOGM 2024, when a multinational police response was triggered to assist the country.
The signing reflects Samoa’s push to strengthen both its digital resilience and its ability to work with regional partners on policing and public security matters.
In closing, the Prime Minister said he was pleased to sign all three memoranda on behalf of the Government of Samoa.
This article is based on the Prime Minister’s prepared remarks for the MOU signing ceremony.
