Ardern arrives bearing $9.5m gift
New Zealand is to give almost $10 million to Samoa – a further $3m in disaster aid and $6.5m to help young people and women set up small businesses.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the donation following a bilateral meeting with Samoan Prime Minister Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi Tuila’epa on Monday.
Ardern was in Samoa capital Apia on the first leg of a whirlwind tour of the Pacific.
‘‘Cyclone Gita brought flooding to low-lying and coastal areas of both Samoa’s main islands, causing damage to homes, businesses and infrastructure,’’ she said.
Ardern is also stopping off in Tonga on her week-long trip, which was harder hit by the cyclone.
The prime ministers met at the Samoan Government Building in Apia with Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters also attending.
‘‘New Zealand and Samoa obviously have a unique friendship, and that’s why it was so important to us so early on as a new government to travel to Samoa,’’ Ardern said.
‘‘New Zealand is a second home for many and that relationship is unique.’’
There was a huge diaspora of Samoans in New Zealand, with almost as many living in New Zealand as in Samoa.
The $6.5m in development funding for Samoa will be distributed to women and young people starting small and medium-sized businesses.
‘‘Women and young people are strongly represented in the small and medium enterprise sector so this funding will have a direct impact on their ability to establish sustainable businesses and help Samoa achieve sustained and inclusive economic growth,’’ Ardern said.
‘‘In this region about half of the population could be described as young people.’’
The funding announcement comes soon after Peters drew attention to the large amount of funding that other countries were pouring into Samoa, traditionally a country New Zealand has provided the majority of aid for.
China has loaned the Samoan government tens of millions of dollars in concessionary loans to build a new airport and hospital in Samoa.
Peters did not specifically mention China but noted this funding was causing ‘‘strategic anxiety’’ about the possibility of lessening New Zealand influence in the region.
Asked about Chinese aid, Tuila’epa could not detail the exact amount the government owed China, saying he was ‘‘an old man’’ and no longer the finance minister.
He said the aid had been given in an open and transparent fashion.
‘‘[China] have earmarked for the next five years US$2 billion for grants to Pacific Islands and $2 billion for soft loans. It’s all transparent, it’s all out in the open.’’
Ardern acknowledged that Samoa was already on track to meet its Paris commitments to reducing carbon emissions.
New Zealand’s emissions continue to rise.
‘‘Collectively I think we have a role to play in advocating on behalf of the Pacific together in an international forum as well, so the effects of climate change in this region is known well,’’ Ardern said.