Samoa’s new Prime Minister, La’aulialemalietoa Leuatea Polataivao Fosi Schmidt, demonstrated good health and a positive spirit during a high-level meeting with New Zealand’s Foreign Minister, Winston Peters, held at Samoa House – the Samoa Consulate in Mangere.
It was also Prime Minister La’aulialemalietoa’s first official engagement since his party’s victory in the recemt 2025 Samoan General Elections.
The two leaders discussed key areas of cooperation, including the priorities of the new Samoan Government and strengthening the historic relationship between Samoa and New Zealand.
Border Control
The heightening shared issue of border security concerns was also discussed, including the increased incidents of drug trafficking in the region.
Private Sector Development
The development of Samoa’s private sector and business growth through crucial export industries was also included on the high level agenda.
New Zealand and Samoa are both signaturies to the regional PACER Plus trade agreement that aims to facilitate free trade between New Zealand and smaller economies in the Pacific.
RSE Seasonal Worker Schemes
New Zealand’s Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme was part of the discussions.
Between 2007 and 2025, approximately 16,687 unique Samoan individuals have participated in the New Zealand RSE scheme.
The annual number of recruits has varied over the years. For example, there were 8,720 between 2007 and 2022, and then recruitment peaked at 4,167 in 2022-23 and then decreased to around 3,800 for both the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons.
La’aulialemalietoa was transferred to New Zealand for medical care a week after being sworn in. The meeting and photos provided by Samoa’s Press Secretariat highlights the Prime Minister’s ongoing recovery and readiness to lead.
The Prime Minister was scheduled to return to Samoa last week, however, his doctors recommended an additional two-week stay to finalise treatment. Laaulialemalietoa demonstrates his usual action-led approach to leadership with the initiative taken while in NZ for medical treatment.
The meeting with Winston Peters who is New Zealand’s longest serving MP and friend of Samoa, reaffirmed Samoa’s regional diplomatic ties.
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