Samoa Government leaders and China’s Ambassador to Samoa on Tuesday did a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday to mark the start of the Police Academy project.

The ceremony was held at Tafaigata with Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa and her a number of Cabinet Ministers on hand to participate in the official launching of the construction of the Samoa Police Academy Project.

The Police and Prison Services Minister, Harry Schuster gave the keynote address at the official launching and highlighted the significance of the project to Samoa.

China’s Ambassador to Samoa, Chao Xiaoliang, congratulated the project partners on the groundbreaking ceremony and described it as an event that makes all parties inseparable.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those whose dedication and efforts made this project a reality,” said the Ambassador. 

“First, I would like to thank the Samoan government for the longstanding relationship we enjoy, and for the partnership on this project.

“I would also like to thank the Shaanxi Construction Engineering Group Corporation for the endeavours you put into this project despite the adverse impact of some restrictive factors including COVID-19.” 

According to Mr. Xiaoliang the groundbreaking ceremony is an example of the enduring friendship between both nations, since diplomatic relations were first established 47 years ago.

“China has been devoted to strengthening bilateral cooperation with Samoa and we have proudly achieved a lot together,” the Ambassador added.

“As the largest developing country in the world, China shares Samoa’s goals in sustainable social and economic development. 

“It is learned that social security is a prerequisite for development. Without sustainable security, sustainable development can not be ensured for sure.”

With the aim of assisting the Samoa Police Service in capacity building, Mr. Xiaoliang said the Police Academy will assist the Police to better serve the people of Samoa. It includes functional buildings and auxiliary facilities, he added.

Prime Minister Fiame and the Ambassador then took two spades and led the groundbreaking ceremony. 

The Samoa Police Academy Project aims to build the long term capacity and improvement of the Police Prisons and Corrections Service. Its objectives are to effectively enforce Government law starting from basic knowledge and skills, hence the need for a fully functional police training center, one which not only has a classroom setting but also has an attached outdoor training environment.