11 May 2019, Apia Samoa. Press Release. The Secretariat of the Pacific Community and representatives of the consortium partners from FFA, Australia Geoscience and the Attorney-General’s Department of Australia who are partners in the Pacific Regional Maritime Boundaries Project were in Samoa to carry out a workshop held in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade Samoa and the National Maritime Boundaries Committee to conduct a Maritime Boundaries Awareness workshop at the TATTE Convention Centre from the 7th to 9th May 2019.
The workshop was opened with introductory remarks by, Ms Peseta Noumea Simi, Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Co-Chair of the National Maritime Boundaries Committee, and H.E. Ms Sara Moriarty, the Australian High Commissioner to Samoa.
The purpose of the workshop was to provide awareness and capacity building for members of the maritime boundaries committee and relevant stakeholders on the work of the region on maritime boundaries.
The workshop was also an opportunity to provide an update on Samoa’s effort on maritime boundaries delimitation. It served as a platform for discussions on the legal, technical, and other dimensions of the maritime boundaries work. Contextual issues relating to maritime boundaries including the understanding of the global discussions on maritime zones and climate change, and domestic maritime legislations were discussed amongst the participants.
Presentations were given by the visiting partners as well as government ministries, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Office of the Attorney General, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Ministry of Works, Transport and Infrastructure and the Ministry of Police.
The aim of the workshop is aligned with the Leaders’ statement from the Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ meeting in September 2018whereby they acknowledged “the urgency and importance of securing the region’s maritime boundaries as a key issue for the development and security of our region, and thereby for the security and well-being of the Blue Pacific Continent.” The workshop is funded by the Pacific European Union Marine Partnership (PEUMP). Technical and legal advisers are provided under the Pacific Maritime Boundaries Project, funded by the Government of Australia.
