The Samoa Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, says resources lost to corruption are resources lost to the poor.
He has told a four day awareness workshop on the United Nations Convention Against Corruption in Apia that this corruption will hamper the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
The meeting is being attended by senior government officials from fourteen Pacific countries.
Tuilaepa says his Government is well aware that to achieve the MDGs it will need to bring to bear all of the country's resources.
The Prime Minister says the UN Convention Against Corruption is a useful tool to help Pacific Island countries tackle corruption, in all its forms, in a coordinated way.
The UN's Resident Coordinator in Samoa, Nileema Noble, says tackling corruption is crucially important in the Pacific.
She says corruption reflects a democracy, human rights and governance deficit that negatively impacts on poverty and human security.
