02 May 2023: Lava Hotel
Your Excellency, Mr Senta Keisuke: Japan’s Ambassador to Samoa
Acting UNDP Coordinator in Samoa – Mr Jorn Sorensen
The International Organisation for Migration’s Chief of Mission and Coordinator for the Pacific: Ms Jaqueline Weeks
Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade – Peseta Noumea Simi
Invited guests, ladies and gentlemen
Border management is an imperative component of national security. Its layers and functionalities are customized to serve countries’ needs and priorities, to ensure maximum security and protection of citizens, properties, environment, and the travelling public.
Border management systems have been used extensively to strengthen vigilance and travellers’ profiling at the regulated ports of entry. For Samoa, the first automated border management system was commissioned in 2005 through the assistance of the government of Australia.
The BMS was introduced at the time when the numbers of incoming and outgoing passengers recorded in Samoa, were around 40 thousand a year. The trend of arriving and departing travellers continued to increase over the years. In 2018 and 2019 just before the COVID 19 pandemic spread across the world, the Samoa Immigration processed on average, 240 thousand travellers entering and departing Samoa through the Border Management System consecutively. These included returning residents, visitors, and crews of aircrafts arriving at Faleolo airport, and vessels docking at Matautu wharf.
For almost 20 years now, we have witnessed the value of having this tool at our borders, because of its real time data collection and tracking of movements at our borders, as well as assisting our immigration officers to monitor entry and departure of high risk travellers/persons of interest.
In this day and age, border security risks and threats have reached new levels. Traditional border security risks such as transnational crimes, smuggling of illicit drugs, weapons and people, frequent movement of persons of interest, human trafficking, and quarantine and biosecurity challenges are on the rise.
Our recent experience with the COVID 19 pandemic brought forth a completely new facet to our national security response. In our concerted efforts to safeguard Samoa from being hit early while focusing on our vaccinations required greater coordination, and vigilance at the borders. Swift changes were made at our frontline operation with our health professionals taking over the first line of defense, working closely with other border agencies. Border closure, approved repatriation flights, multiple layers of health screening, and mandatory isolation suddenly became normal requirements of our national border management. The results of our national response to the pandemic attest to effective coordination, closer cooperation and partnership, systemic support, and a dedicated workforce.
This Project is timely, as its relates directly to strengthening border management capacity, to respond effectively to border security risks and threats including infectious diseases, and supports post COVID 19 recovery, through safe resumption of border operations, enhanced seamless border management technological infrastructure, and capacity development.
At the recent meeting of the Pacific Immigration Development Community Board in Papua New Guinea two weeks ago, we shared experiences from Pacific Islands Countries on border management systems. Other countries have more than 400 border management systems, others have added new capabilities over the years to respond to growing needs at the borders. For Samoa, we are extremely happy to embark on this project, working closely with the IOM to upgrade our border management system. Through this upgrade we will add new capabilities to the BMS to strengthen our passenger profiling, facial imaging, data analysis and management, and synchronizing of passport issuance and receipting functionality to name a few.
In future, we hope to migrate to integrated border management whereby systems can sync and talk to each other, beyond national borders in a timely fashion, and to share relevant information to help immigration officers make informed decisions at the borders. New technology allows for advance passenger profiling and information. Like many Pacific Island Countries, all incoming travellers’ immigration status are determined upon arrival in Samoa. Meaning that immigration officers need to be well equipped, with the support of advanced passenger information and profiling, to help with their decision making.
In this connection, let me acknowledge the assistance of the IOM in partnership with the government of Japan in funding this project. We value this project as part of our drive to ensure that Samoa’s national borders are secure, and that our people are safe.
Let me also acknowledge the work of our Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade for coordinating this project from its outset through the diplomatic channels.
System integrity depends on operators’ integrity. The human component remains an important integral part of any system success. Systems can only work well with accurate data and information entry. Through this project, we will enhance staff capacity to use the new systemic capabilities in their line of duty as immigration officers.
We look forward to working together with our national security committee and border agencies, who are the users of the border management system, to realize the full benefits of the new capabilities of the BMS.
May the Lord bless this project and all the glory be unto Him.
I thank you for your attention.
