The Samoan prime minister, Tuilaepa Sailele, is expected to apologise to a Canadian senator for insulting her during a visit to Apia.
The Samoa Observer says the senator was part of a team of the Inter Parliamentary Union that had been invited by the opposition following its complaint about the way the Samoan parliament was run.
The IPU Committee on Human Rights of Parliamentarians says Tuilaepa made discourteous and sexist comments for describing the visiting women as mentally retarded.
The IPU said the conflict between the ruling Human Rights Protection Party and the opposition Samoa Democratic Party is more than a political squabble but raised fundamental issues regarding the functioning of the opposition.
