02/10/2026
Courtesy Call by the New Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany in Fiji on the Acting High Commissioner a.i of Samoa – Thursday 1 October 2026
H.E Ms Nicole Menzenbach, the newly appointed Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Republic of Fiji paid a courtesy call on the Acting High Commissioner a.i Ms Belinda Filo-Tafunai at the Samoa High Commission on Thursday 1 October 2026. H.E Ms Nicole Menzenbach presented her credentials to the President of the Republic of Fiji. H.E Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu on 29 July 2026. During the friendly re-connections as H.E Ms Nicole Menzenbach was formerly the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to New Zealand from 2022 to 2026, thus had the opportunity to meet with Ms Belinda Filo-Tafunai in Samoa whilst serving at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade during her credential visit. The discussion was very enlightening as H.E Ms Nicole Menzenbach expressed her sincere appreciation and values deeply the close bilateral relations of Germany and Samoa. H.E Ms Nicole Menzenbach expressed her sheer interest to further enhance and proactively engage more directly with the Pacific Islands Diplomatic Missions based in Fiji as Her Excellency is concurrently accredited to Tonga, Samoa, Kiribati and Tuvalu with residence in Suva, Fiji. The discussions focus on engagements at the Pacific Islands Forum considering Germany is a Dialogue partner since 2016, it continues to play a crucial role in the Pacific region through its contributions in the areas of climate change adaptation and mitigation, sustainable management of terrestrial marine resources/oceans, environment and sustainable energy. The Acting High Commissioner a.i acknowledged with sincere appreciation as Samoa continues to benefit from the assistance through the European Union Development Fund in which Germany is a significant financial contributor for regional development channeled through the Pacific Islands Forum. Samoa and Germany share a common commitment to combating climate change which is an existential threat to small island developing states (SIDS) like Samoa and our Pacific region. Moreover, Ms Belinda Filo-Tafunai conveyed sincere appreciation to H.E Ms Nicole Menzenbach for Germany’s invaluable support during its emergency and disaster relief response through medical equipment, vaccines, essential supplies, financial and technical assistance which assisted our country Samoa to combat the measles epidemic in November 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic through regional and multilateral organizations during these very difficult challenging times. Moreover, the important positive impacts given the continuous support by Germany through its Small Grant Programme which funded small scale projects for NGOs in the areas of health, environment conservation, education and small-scale building renovation works which are contributing to the fundamental development of Samoa. H.E Ms Nicole Menzenbach made special mention that the Small Grant Program previously operated by the Embassy of Federal Republic of Germany in Wellington, New Zealand has been transferred under her mandate which will operate directly from Suva, Fiji which is great news for the Pacific Islands Diplomatic Missions. The Acting High Commissioner a.i made special acknowledgement of the close work relations with Mrs. Tagaloa Christa Szegedi and her son Afoa Stefan Szegedi who has taken over as Germany’s Honorary Consul in Samoa to strengthen our relations through the promotion of culture and friendship between our peoples. Ms Belinda Filo-Tafunai wished H.E Ms Nicole Menzenbach the very best during her diplomatic tenure in Suva, Fiji and look forward to future engagements.
