On her first visit to Samoa as the new World Bank Regional Vice President for East Asia and Pacific, Pamela Cox met with Prime Minister Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele Malielegaoi today to discuss ways to expand support for the people of Samoa to build on their successful development efforts.

"The Bank hopes to offer Samoa up to US$100 million in concessional finance and grants over the next five years to increase resilience against shocks and generate opportunities from greater global and regional integration," said Cox. "We will encourage private investment and broad-based growth, with a strong focus on helping farmers to improve yields and access new opportunities to sell their products".

In her meeting with the Prime Minister, Cox discussed the World Bank Country Partnership Strategy for Samoa, a first for the country. The Strategy, developed through extensive consultations, will guide the Bank's lending and analytical work as well as technical assistance, representing a further strengthening of the relationship between the Bank and Samoa.

During her visit, Cox also traveled to communities affected by the devastating tsunami in 2009 and observed progress made on reconstruction activities conducted with World Bank assistance.  After the tsunami, the Bank helped to finance the construction of 30 km of new access roads to villages relocated inland, rebuild seawalls and other infrastructure, and supported Samoa's budget, which helped the Government to provide housing grants for those impacted by the disaster.

"The people I met today gave me a real sense of the absolute devastation they experienced from the tsunami and how hard they've worked to rebuild their lives, through their own efforts and with support from the Government and partners," Cox said. "Samoa reminds us of the vulnerability of Pacific Island states to natural disasters as well as food and fuel price spikes and the global economic slowdown – and how we can work together to overcome these difficulties." 

Increased support to Samoa reflects the growth in engagement by the World Bank Group across the Pacific. In the last five years, the World Bank has committed US$250 million in total to the region. This includes support for the telecoms revolution, which has given over one million more Pacific islanders access to mobile phones; and financed community infrastructure that has benefited over 100,000 people, helping to improve the lives of the people of the Pacific Islands. – World Bank, 23/03/12.