China's Ambassador to Samoa Fei Mingxing (left) and the Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, Agafili Shem Leo. Photo: @Pule Puleaina
A new visa exemption agreement between Samoa and China will make travel between them easier for citizens.
The agreement was signed on 23 January by the Ministry of the Prime Minister and Cabinet chief executive Agafili Shem Leo and the Chinese Ambassador to Samoa Fei Mingxing.
The visa agreement was one of the issues discussed at the bilateral meeting between Samoa's Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataʻafa and China's President Xi Jinping during the Samoa PM's official visit to China last year.
Aside from the visa exemption, the culmination of the bilateral meetings between Mataʻafa and the Chinese leaders included the signing of the following:
- Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement
- MOU on Exchange and Cooperation in the field of Economic Development
- MOU on Establishing a Working Group on Promoting Unimpeded Trade
- MOU on the Global Development Initiative
- MOU on Education Collaboration and Exchanges
- Handover Certificate for the Fingerprint Testing Laboratory
Upon the conclusion of the signing, Mata'afa and Fei acknowledged that the visa exemption arrangement would benefit both countries substantially by easing international travel.
Samoa and China established diplomatic relations in 1975.
