Samoa's Prime Minister, Tuila'epa Sa'ilele Malielegaoi, has conveyed to the Prime Minister of Tonga, Dr Feleti Vaka'uta Sevele, his great sorrow over the death of His Majesty King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV.
In his condolence message on behalf of the government and the people of his nation, the prime minister says the death of King Taufa'ahau ends an important era for the Kingdom of Tonga, the peoples of Polynesia and the wider Pacific region.
Tuila'epa says his country remembers the many times the late King and his Queen Halaevalu Mata'aho visited the Head of State Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II.
Those visits he says were an enduring reminder of the historical and special ties between Samoa and Tonga.
