President Paul Kagame on Tuesday, October 22, arrived in Apia, the capital city of Samoa, for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
After Kigali, in June 2022, this year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting – the first CHOGM to be held in a Pacific Small Island Developing State – started in Apia, on October 21.
On his arrival, Kagame who has Chaired the Commonwealth since 2022, was received by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Customs and Revenue Tuala Tevaga Iosefo Ponifasio.
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From October 21 to 26, building on progress since CHOGM 2022 in Rwanda, leaders will deliberate on global economic, environmental and security challenges, and discuss how Commonwealth countries can work together to build resilience, boost trade, innovation, growth and empower the Commonwealth’s 1.5 billion young people for a more peaceful and sustainable future.
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According to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Amb Olivier Nduhungirehe, during this year’s CHOGM, Rwanda will hand over its two-year chairmanship to Samoa, and "a new Secretary General of the Commonwealth, from the Africa region, will also be elected.”
Themed "One Resilient Common Future: Transforming our Common Wealth", CHOGM 2024, according to the organisers, promises to be a landmark event, uniting Commonwealth nations in their pursuit of resilience, sustainability, and a shared future.
From building resilience to meeting climate goals, it is noted, the Samoa CHOGM aims to deliver innovative solutions through bold, ambitious, and transformational actions.
More than 3,000 delegates and leaders from 56 Commonwealth countries, representing 2.7 billion people, will gather in Apia for the bi-annual Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Leaders of Commonwealth countries meet every two years for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), hosted by different member countries on a rotating basis.
Among others, the Heads of Government will deliberate on a crucial Ocean Declaration that aims to accelerate initiatives for a healthy, sustainable and resilient ocean, and elect a successor to the current Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland KC, whose term will end in March 2025.