Delegates who are in Samoa for the Commonwealth Global biennial conference on small states were given a taste of Samoan culture on Friday. Their Samoan Culture Excursion saw them visit the Samoan Culture Centre at Falelauniu.

Assistant Chief Executive Officer (C.E.O) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Tagaloa Sharon Aiafi, said the visit was an important part of the week for the visitors to Samoa.

“As you know with all overseas meetings that we host, we always want to expose our Samoan culture and the way of living, just to get them to have a feel of the things," she said.

"A lot of times it’s just the meetings, they really don’t get to see and appreciate what Samoa is all about, the people and the culture and the hospitality that we’re able to portray."

"It's  really just having them to appreciate what Samoa is like. Samoa is a small island developing state and although we have very limited resources, we certainly try and stretch those resources."

The visit was also a good opportunity for some art and craft makers to showcase their creativity.

Among them was Iafeta Su’e, who makes canoes for a living. He was happy with the  opportunity to showcase what he does best.

Samoan Tattooist, Tulouena Faamausili, showcased the importance of the patterns and what the tattoos mean to Samoans.

“We are very proud to say that this is a very good opportunity for us to expose our talents in tattooing and to emphasize the importance of our beautiful culture,” he said.

Delegates Barnapas Vote from the Solomon Islands and Samantha Harrison of the United Kingdom were left thoroughly impressed.

“The Samoan culture is very unique. How you welcome people is very amazing, very friendly people,” Mr. Vote said.