The Prime Minister, Honourable Tuilaepa Fatialofa Lupesoliai Dr. Sailele Malielegaoi, officially opened the new Embassy of Samoa premises on 12 December 2014 in Brussels. The ceremony was attended by Ministers from the Pacific, the Caribbean and Africa as well as officials of the EU, the current and in-coming Secretaries-General of the ACP Group, and Samoans residing in Europe. The CEO of the National Provident Fund, Faumuina Esther Lameko Poutoa, delivered the opening prayer.

In his opening address, the Honourable Prime Minister noted that the “inauguration of the new Embassy marks an important development in Samoa’s overall efforts to strengthen and bring more visibility to its representations abroad” and is “testimony to solid and growing relations between Samoa and the European Union and reflects in a very concrete and positive manner our confidence in the survival of that partnership into the foreseeable future.”

Samoa established diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Belgium in May 1973. Eleven year later, Samoa’s first Ambassador accredited to the Kingdom of Belgium and the European Union, Fe’esago Siaosi Fepuleai, arrived to take up residence in 1984. From that time until 5th November 2014 the Embassy has operated out of rented premises. The Prime Minister noted that the Government of Samoa had planned to purchase a building for some time but due to a number of factors was not able to do so until now.

The Prime Minister also touched briefly on the SIDS Conference and expressed the “ hope . . . that this new office will play its part in advancing and securing support for the effective implementation of the SAMOA pathway with our partners from Europe.”