PLG 2021: Building Resilience in Times of Uncertainty

Governor Lemanu plans to carry out the first virtual Polynesian Leaders Group meeting.

American Samoa to address matters related to COVID-19, Agriculture and Fisheries, Climate Change, and Information Technology.

Governor Lemanu will host the first-ever Virtual Polynesian Leaders Group (PLG) summit between island nations of the Blue Pacific region this Thursday, January 28th, 2021. American Samoa currently holds the PLG Chairperson position, which is turned over annually to the next partner or at the next possible meeting. The 2020 PLG summit did not occur due to the Measles and COVID-19 outbreaks. Governor Lemanu states, "The theme for the upcoming PLG meeting is 'Building Resilience in Times of Uncertainty.' Our Polynesian culture defines our unified goals of building partnerships and paving the way for a prosperous and sustainable future for the region." He continues, "This theme is directly related to how the Pacific islands are working together during this pandemic to overcome adversity. We need to remain vigilant about other issues affecting our islands, livelihood, economics, culture, and language. I hope that the results of this week’s discussion will be formatted and addressed accordingly at the next Pacific Islands Forum Meeting."

Governor Lemanu would like to also express his greatest appreciation to PLG Founder Prime Minister Tuilaepa for his foresight. "I am thankful for the PLG Secretariat, our partners in Samoa for all the hard work in implementing PLG initiatives, information sharing among PLG members, and the logistics and planning to make these annual meetings a reality."

Prime Minister Tuilaepa, stated that the goal and mission of this Polynesian alliance are to work together to seek a future for our Polynesian people and countries. The Polynesian Leaders Group (PLG) is an international governmental cooperation group bringing together eight independent or self-governing island nations and territories in Polynesia.

As the various countries come together to share their governmental affairs, the PLG provides an opportunity to engage and educate each other on issues that present the most challenges within their respective countries. Issues such as education, culture and language, environmental conservation (climate change), healthcare, and regional economics. These discussions intend to provide a vehicle that strengthens the partnerships between all island nations of Polynesia.

The PLG core values promote a mutual understanding and cooperation among members and encourage sharing knowledge and experiences in awareness and education to promote culture, traditions, and languages; to encourage mutual support of development efforts; to encourage respect for the quality of governance; to encourage the strengthening of connections with institutions or regional and international cooperations.

The PLG meetings are exclusive and allow for a safe space where members can share knowledge of achieving sustainable economic prosperity, observing democratic values, and promoting that human rights are promoted and protected and upholding the rule of law.