In an increasingly interconnected and polarized world, intergovernmental organizations and powerful nations must uphold international law and respect the sovereignty of smaller states, Samoan Prime Minister Fiamē Naomi Mata‘afa said at an April 4 virtual event.

The event, titled the “Peter Tali Coleman Lecture on Pacific Public Policy,” consisted of a lecture hosted by Georgetown University’s Center for Australian, New Zealand and Pacific Studies (CANZPS) in commemoration of the legacy of Peter Tali Coleman, the first ethnically Samoan and popularly-elected governor of American Samoa. 

The event was part of the Blue Pacific Futures lecture series, hosted jointly by CANZPS and the Center for Pacific Island Studies at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. 

Mata‘afa, a member of the new Fa‘atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi Party, became Samoa’s first female prime minister in July 2021, putting an end to the 40 year rule of her opponent’s party, the Human Rights Protection Party. 

Samoa is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands, two small inhabited islands and several small uninhabited islands. The country is 1,093 square miles in size and has a population of 198,410 people as of 2020.

Mata‘afa said that Samoa’s voice on the global stage is crucial, particularly when it comes to handling issues that distinctly impact islands and their inhabitants. 

“The objectives of Samoa’s foreign policy are to protect Samoa’s independence and sovereignty, to expand opportunities for our citizens to overcome our geographic limits, and notwithstanding the current challenging environment, to leverage our strong relationships with global partners to Build Back Better post-COVID-19 and to continually address the formidable challenges of climate change, considered the single greatest threat to small island countries of the Pacific and our peoples’ livelihoods,” Mata‘afa said.

International relationships help overcome difficulties that arise with Samoa’s status as a small country, according to Mata‘afa.

“These have facilitated the negotiation of our positions, the implementation of our obligations, as well as developed new opportunities to expand trade for Samoa through development cooperation,” Mata‘afa said. “Our ministry of foreign affairs and trade is very small. Our overseas representation is even smaller. One can therefore imagine the strain on our limited resources from the many complex structures and processes of multilateral diplomacy.” 

Mata‘afa said that a strong alliance of Pacific island states is key to amplifying all of their respective voices on the global stage.

“The common and united nature of island countries often represents a formidable voting bloc in the United Nations, and the ability to influence the shaping of global decisions facilitated by the United Nations,” Mata‘afa said. “Given our obvious limited resources, diplomacy is vital in our approach to ensure our place and role in international peace, security, cooperation, prosperity and the protection of human rights.”

Even if all Pacific island nations work in collaboration and partnership, Mata‘afa said that international laws regarding each nation’s sovereignty must be upheld for the voices of small nations to be heard. 

“The expansion of Samoa’s presence overseas is important in sustaining our international relationships to achieve the objectives of our foreign policy and to ensure our priorities and interests remain high on the agenda of the region and the U.N.,” Mata‘afa said

An example of Samoa’s increasing international presence is the recent opening of the Samoa High Commission to Fiji, which aims to create a point of contact between Samoa and other nations in the Pacific Islands Forum. Samoa plans to continue to expand by opening a permanent mission in Geneva in the coming months.

Mata‘afa believes in diplomacy as a means to further the interests and well-being of Samoa, as well as other small nations. 

“We want practical benefits. We want to achieve real outcomes. We want to improve the way we interact in the international arena,” Mata‘afa said. “We may not be a powerhouse in the global order, but we will not be discouraged or compromised in our determination and commitment to inspirational leadership of Samoa, and of our Blue Pacific continent, and the maintenance of peace and security, prosperity and wellbeing of all Pacific peoples.”