Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has denied he sought to update its principal bilateral agreement with Samoa, despite his Samoan counterpart reportedly claiming the opposite.
The Samoa Observer first reported on Friday that Samoan Prime Minister La’aulialemalietoa (La’auli) Leuatea Schmidt had deferred talks with Luxon before New Zealand’s general election, scheduled for 7 November.
“Regarding the Treaty of Friendship that was being prepared, Luxon wanted me to go ahead and proceed with it, but I said no,” La’auli reportedly said.
However, Luxon told reporters Monday that no such conversation had taken place this year, nor had he sought any discussion with La’auli before the election.
“I’ve never asked about the Treaty, we may get to that but we’ll talk about it next year,” he said.
“That’s not a priority for us at this time.”
He added he felt strongly about his friendship with Samoa, and wanted to deepen the connection.
“I’ve spoken to MFAT (Ministry of Foriegn Affairs and Trade) about it, and our view is that there is obviously some misreporting about it… we didn’t start any conversation about it this year.”
Luxon and La’auli met last at the Beehive in July. In a press release at the time, La’auli stated the two leaders discussed the treaty, and that he had been critical of it.
“La’aulialemalietoa noted that officials have begun identifying key issues and areas for future discussion, acknowledging that it has now been 64 years since the Treaty was signed,” it read.
“Both prime ministers acknowledged the value of considering how the Treaty can continue to reflect the realities and aspirations of the modern relationship, with further discussions expected following New Zealand’s upcoming general election.”
Last week, La’auli told a function in Apia – organised by former National Party MP and NZ-based businessman Arthur Anae – that a new proposal was close.
The Observer reported La’auli saying he had told Luxon “to wait until the (NZ) election is fully concluded and to see who the new Prime Minister is; only then will I have a ‘fair’ go at whoever will be newly elected.”
It is not the first time the two leaders have had crossed wires.
