New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon is putting the question of whether or not he asked for a matai title behind him, saying it was a miscommunication, and both he and his Samoan counterpart have moved on.
Samoa's government had to clarify this morning that neither Luxon, nor his representatives, had requested he be given an honour shortly before the presentation in the capital Apia.
Luxon thanked those present for the title, Tuisinavemaulumoto'otua, saying it was a great honour.
"We are now connected forever,"he told the crowd, which included representatives of villages and the wider community, as well as the New Zealand delegation.
At the end of the lengthy ceremony, in which Luxon and assembled ministers and delegation members drunk kava (prompting an "I love Samoa" from Police Minister Mark Mitchell), Luxon and his wife Amanda joined Samoa's representatives for a dance.
Luxon then met privately with Prime Minister La'aulialemalietoa Schmidt for a bilateral discussion before a joint Cabinet meeting.
Memorandums of arrangement were signed on Police and Customs matters, with commitments around combatting transnational crime and drug-trafficking.
Afterwards, Luxon said the Pacific had become a "super-highway for drugs," and both leaders were committed to more information sharing.
"We've got to make sure we cut down the drugs out on the sea. We've got to make sure that the borders are strong, because actually, the border around the Pacific is the border for all of us. We've got to make sure that we disrupt it in-country.
"And then, importantly, we also need to make sure we work with good organisations like the Salvation Army and others to deal with the social harm that is happening inside our own communities as well."
He said the conversations were "illuminating," and the leaders had shared what more could be done in healthcare and education as well.
Luxon invited Samoan ministers to visit New Zealand later in the year for further collaboration.
Asked about what went wrong with the matai title mixup, Luxon said he was "done and finished" with the matter.
"We've worked our way through that issue in the last few hours, the last day, and what I'd say is important is our conversation has been about how we take our relationship forward," he said.
"And so I appreciate there was some miscommunication and all of that, but we've got ourselves to the right place where we are wanting to build our relationship in a deeper way."
A question was put to La'aulialemalietoa about the matai title, which he did not answer, but earlier said it was a "token of respect."
He also spoke of the importance of the relationship between New Zealand and Samoa, which he described in sibling terms.
"You see the changing nowadays in the world. Big countries bully, start to change things dynamically, tariffs, pushing things, patrolling, and all that taking over. Samoa's focus is to make sure we look after ourselves by ourselves, and controlling by ourselves.
"So that's why it's very, very important for Samoa, New Zealand, and Australia, and all Pacific regions, to come back together again, formulate our Pacific island nation, and make sure we have the capacity to look after ourselves in our own side of the world."
Luxon was asked about what the government would do to improve visa access, but gave the same answer he has previously given New Zealand media - that the government has made it easier, cheaper and faster, but remains concerned about overstayers.
"We've had two attempts, I think, at visa free in New Zealand's history, and they had to get stopped very quickly, because our hospitals got filled up, our schools got filled up, and people didn't go home. "
Neither leader mentioned the HMNZS Manawanui in their opening remarks, but La'aulialemalietoa later indicated he did not believe the matter to be finished.
The Royal New Zealand Navy vessel sank off the coast of Samoa after hitting a reef, spilling hundreds of thousands of litres of diesel and oil into the ocean in 2024.
The New Zealand government paid $6 million in compensation last year, but La'aulialemalietoa said where it would go was still being finalised.
"At this stage, the continuation of the negotiation is still on, and we need to have time, better time with New Zealand, to consider what is good for us here, and protective, and also preserve what's going to be affected in the future.
"That's the where the discussion should be."
