Prime Minister, Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa has met with the newly appointed United Nations Resident Coordinator for Samoa and three other Pacific nations.

The UN Office for Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa and Tokelau in a media release issued on Friday said Themba Kalua presented his letter of credentials to the Prime Minister on Thursday in the Prime Minister's Office at the Government Building.

A Malawi national, Mr. Kalua as the UN Resident Coordinator is the highest-ranking representative of the UN development system at the country level and is the designated representative of and reports to the Secretary-General. 

As the Resident Coordinator, he is responsible for the coordination of all UN development operational activities in support of countries’ efforts towards implementation of the 2030 Agenda-17 Sustainable Development Goals, the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, and the UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for the Pacific 2023-2027 which are aligned to better serve the national development priorities of the country.

He is the second UN Resident Coordinator for the UN MCO in Samoa since the UN General Assembly Resolution 72/279 on the reform of the UN development system to better respond to the 2030 Agenda, including a “reinvigorated, empowered, and independent” Resident Coordinator system.

The UN and Samoa have maintained diplomatic relations since 1945 when the UN inherited responsibility for Western Samoa from the former League of Nations, which was then a Trusteeship Territory under New Zealand’s administration. This relationship guided the attainment of Samoa’s independence in 1962, and it has expanded over the years with the UN remaining committed, as one of Samoa’s crucial development partners.