H.E K.H. Ma’ruf Amin (Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia), Honorable Ministers, Heads of Media Organisations, Distinguished Participants, and Ladies and Gentlemen.

Please allow me to convey our sincere gratitude and fa'afetai to the Government and the people of the Republic of Indonesia for their hospitality in supporting our AIBD team in hosting the 18th Asia Media Summit 2023.

From Samoa, it is indeed a great pleasure to be here with our Asia Pacific family among Communication leaders on the theme of Media Enhancing Economic Sustainability.

Ladies and gentlemen, Communication technologies have changed the way we see the world, the way we educate our children, the way we do business, our entertainment, the way we work and serve our people and the obvious, it has changed the way we live.

With COVID-19, a pandemic that closed all borders and a global challenge that had impacted every individual and every nation. It was also a crisis that caused economic worries around the globe. Communication technologies allowed countries and the world to continue.

COVID challenges have reminded us about the importance of our communities, our environment, our identity, and our values within those communities. As leaders, it is a reminder that our people are our priority.

Samoa’s vision in its current pathway for Development (2021-2026), commits to ‘fostering social harmony, safety and freedom for all’, with the theme of ‘empowering communities, building resilience and inspiring growth’.

Your Excellencies, it is the Samoan Government’s commitment to its people, with an emphasis to focus on the safety and freedom for all.

As a government through the media, we encourage that every person has the right and freedom of thought, belief, even a political opinion, and it is a freedom to relevant information that fulfils the requirements of his rights.

As stated by leaders of the 19th century: “A well-informed community is a prerequisite to democracy." 

For our commitment, the Government of Samoa is developing policies and legislations that support the freedom of expression and access to information, a digital transformation policy to ensure accountability, digital identification legislation ensuring equal opportunities and access to all Samoans and to name a few. Our government is considering future legislation that further supports freedom for all, empowering communities and inspiring growth.

As a small island developing state in the 21st century, it reminds me of an old Samoan fishing proverb - Ua sau le va’a na tiu, tau mai i le va’a na tau ae oloo mau pea lago o le va’a na faō afolau - which literally refers to three fishing canoes and its various roles in the fishing fields. 

The first canoe –is returning from deep sea fishing. The second canoe is at berth on the lagoon and the third canoe is in the boat shelter on land preparing for its time.

It means, returning home from a deep-sea fishing/hardship, they were not alone, the villages in the shallow lagoon awaiting their return, and the ones at home, who are the village elders in the shelter, praying for the fishermen’s success and safe return home.

Ladies and gentlemen, as a small Pacific island developing state celebrating its 60th year of Independence, our journey has been filled with the influx of economic challenges and opportunities, technological changes, political differences, and geopolitics matters, maintaining economic freedom becomes a challenge in itself.

But, we survived our journey in the deep sea, thanks to our regional support. For developed nations of the Asia-Pacific region, we survived.

AIBD has supported Samoa through various areas including communications and in particular, capacity building for the media industry. Asia has been the elderly, praying for our survival.

There are always challenges in any industry, as we continue to rebuild and further support our small economies, the freedom of our people needs fronts to help build consensus on matters of national interests, facilitate trade discussions, transmit and receive ideas through ICT platforms and networks other than the traditional media.

As the responsible Minister for the media sector, I fully support the media industry to continue to uphold traditional values as these will determine the focus of your lens on a daily basis. As we continue to transform our societies in this digital century, any national and regional plans must be media-inclusive. And it is equally important that we maintain our communities, our identities, and our values, it is who we are. New technologies such as the use of AI requires informed regulatory policies for security and better use of such technologies.

Your Excellencies, the Government of Samoa remains committed to AIBD, media organisations and their mandates. We will continue working with regional organisations and partners to support our media industry in pursuing our target for a well-informed region.

I would like to end with a statement by the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres at the G20 hosted by Indonesia in 2022 and I quote: “In a very difficult context in which political divides have reached a climax, Indonesia has demonstrated an enormous capacity to bring parties together to promote dialogue and to try to push for solutions.”

Thank you to AIBD, TVRI Indonesia. You have done very well. Thank you! Terima Kasih!

• Samoa's Minister of Communication and Information Technology, Toelupe Poumulinuku Onesemo deliver this speech at the 18th Asia Media Summit in the Republic of Indonesia from 21–25 May 2023. The Summit was hosted by AIBD and Indonesia's TVRI.