Sāmoan Prime Minister Fiamē Naomi Mata'afa has made her first official visit to Aotearoa for a series of hui with Prime Minister Jacinda Adern.
Climate change and security were on the table along with a call for more support to maintain the Samoan language in Aotearoa.
“Our two countries have continued to work closely together to address the adverse impacts of climate change and extensive biodiversity loss.
"We're also looking at potential windfalls post-pandemic so we can ensure a sustainable and resilient recovery," Prime Minister Fiamē said.
Another issue for Sāmoans living in Aotearoa is the state of the language, which is in a state of decline.
In the 2018 census, 182,721 people in NZ identified themselves as Sāmoan. Just over 86,000 spoke the language but there had been a 20% decline in numbers.
Researcher Lefaoali'i Dr Dion Enari said help was needed to prevent language loss.
“The severity is that if it's not concerted and not deliberate in the effort to maintain and sustain the Sāmoan language, it could totally disappear in three generations.”
Dr Enari believed the blueprint for survival is in Māori language revitalisation with more effort to sustain the language extending beyond Sāmoan Language Week.
“Anything is better than nothing, learning one or two words is better than learning no words at all. There can always be more done to ensure the sustainability and survival of our languages.”