SAMOA ACP EU AGREEMENT – A HISTORICAL ACHIEVEMENT FOR OUR NATION
1] The signing this week of the Samoa ACP EU Agreement for Genuine Social and Economic Partnership in Development between the 79 member States of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group and 27 members of the European Union is a great historical event for Samoa and the Pacific Region.
2] All previous ACP – EU Agreements were signed in Africa the first one in Togo Africa, in 1975 and referred to as the Lome Convention. Lome being the Capital City of Togo, a Francophone State. I attended this first meeting as an Official, accompanying Hon Sam Saili, Minister of Finance who signed on behalf of Samoa. Discussions with Brauhause of Germany after the signing ceremony resulted in their setting up of our Vailima Brewery which opened in 1978, 45 years ago.
Samoa chaired the Pacific Group of the ACP in 1999 when a new Agreement was negotiated. We succeeded in bidding to let the Pacific host the signing of the new Convention 2000 in Fiji on behalf of the ACP Group.
Several weeks before the signing Ceremony, George Speight launched a coup in Fiji and the Ceremony was switched to Benin Africa and its Capital City Cotonou became the name of the new 20 year agreement, “the Cotonou Agreement, 2000 – 2020.”
When the new 20 yrs. agreement negotiations opened in 2019, Samoa immediately put in a bid to host the signing ceremony, and secondly to call it the Samoa Agreement instead of the Apia Agreement as was the practice, why? Samoa as a Country is better known internationally than its Capital City of Apia.
Recalling the UN Small Island States Meeting held in Apia in 2014 which produced the Samoa
Pathway Plan, the source document for the 17 goals of Development for all Nations approved at the Paris Agreement in 2016, which included Climate Change as the worst evil facing the World today, the Samoa Pathway became a frequent reference quote in speeches in debates on International development goals at major conferences held throughout the World.
The term “Samoa” of the Samoa Pathway was an acronym for Small islands accelerated modalities of action.
The “Samoa Pathway” will end in 2024 and the SAMOA Agreement will become the new reference point in International debates on development issues a kind of free advertisement again for our Country for Tourism development etc, etc, etc for another 20 years continuously!.
Let us all celebrate this occasion together as a Multi-Party occasion for all Samoan to be proud about.
Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi
Leader of HRPP