Relationship dossier
Australia
Samoa
Relationship assessment
Longstanding partnership strengthened by development cooperation and a bilateral security agreement.
Australia toward Samoa
+45Australia provides development assistance to Samoa and has pursued bilateral cooperation through the Treaty of Friendship and the 2024 security agreement.
Samoa toward Australia
+40Samoa has joined Australia in a Treaty of Friendship and a bilateral security agreement, providing a framework for government cooperation on security and other shared concerns.
Overall relationship
+45The relationship rests on a longstanding Treaty of Friendship, Australian development assistance, and a bilateral security agreement signed in 2024. These arrangements indicate sustained cooperation, although the agreement’s practical scope and implementation are unclear.
How to read these scores
Scores are rough judgments, not objective measurements or current verification. Directional scores describe government policy and conduct, not public opinion. The overall score is an independent estimate, never an average.
- −100
- Extreme sustained hostility
- −50
- Substantially adversarial
- 0
- Mixed or neutral, supported by knowledge
- +50
- Substantially cooperative
- +100
- Exceptionally close sustained partnership
“Not assessed” means there is no recorded score. Pair existence makes no claim about diplomatic recognition or established relations.
Relationship context
Overview
Australia and Samoa have a longstanding partnership that includes a Treaty of Friendship and cooperation on development and regional security. In 2024, the governments signed a bilateral security agreement, adding a concrete security framework to their relationship. Australia also provides development assistance to Samoa. The partnership is substantial, though the scope and implementation of its arrangements are not fully clear.
Key developments
Australia and Samoa signed a Treaty of Friendship.
Australia and Samoa signed a bilateral security agreement.
Major uncertainties
- The scope and implementation of the 2024 bilateral security agreement are unclear.
- The extent and continuity of Samoa’s government-to-government cooperation with Australia across development and security matters are unclear.