American Samoa's Governor Togiola Tulafono is heading a delegation of cabinet members to Hawaii to complete negotiations with Tri Marine International, which plans to set up a fish canning operation at the former Chicken of Sea tuna plant in Atu'u.
The governor says he hopes that at the end of their discussions this week, a lease agreement will be signed between the American Samoa Government and Tri Marine.
He says the Government is hoping to finalise negotiations with the former owners, Chicken of Sea, by next week and sign a new lease with Tri Marine in order to resume fish processing operations using the Samoa Packing plant
"Because of the constant correspondence throughout the last few months, we believe we've narrowed all the issues, now we are just at the most critical issues, and that's the purpose for discussion. So that we can get together face to face with all the people that make the decisions. They're bringing their full team, we're bringing our full team."
American Samoa's Governor Togiola Tulafono
