It is official. Samoa will be the next host of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting or CHOGM as it is popularly known, in two years time. 

Flanked by the current Chair of CHOGM 2022 and Rwanda President Paul Kagame, Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Scotland, Guyana President Irfaan Ali and Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio, Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa confirmed to the world in the concluding CHOGM 2022 press conference in Kigali, Rwanda on Sunday that Samoa is ready to play host to heads of government, who are members of a diverse international forum with a membership of 54 nations representing over 2 billion of the world’s population.

It is a big step of confidence by our Prime Minister in the ability of this nation to play host to one of the world’s largest international forums in 2024 with the week-long program set to attract hundreds to thousands of officials.

Congratulations to Prime Minister Fiame and her Fa’atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (F.A.S.T.) Government for the vote of confidence in Samoa’s ability to take on this mammoth task, and in the process will become the first Pacific Islands nation (outside New Zealand which hosted CHOGM in 1995 and Australia in 2011) to host the international summit.

Credit must also go to the former Prime Minister, Tuilaepa Dr. Sa'ilele Malielegaoi and the Human Rights Protection Party (H.R.P.P.) Government for the diplomatic coup they pulled off in negotiating support for our bid in early 2018, which saw Samoa beat Malaysia and Pacific neighbours Fiji to be chosen as host. 

In retrospect if the COVID-19 pandemic did not happen, Samoa would have hosted CHOGM this year as Rwanda was initially scheduled to host in 2020. But the pandemic threw the spanner in the works, and here we are today, surprised at the big steps that this Administration has taken amid the country’s economic woes and an ever present pandemic that continues to infect and affect citizens.

Nonetheless, the benefits that will come with Samoa playing host to this week-long international conference in 2024 are immense, with the most direct beneficiaries being the country’s currently dilapidated tourism and hospitality sector. 

But that is not all, there are the policy interventions to tackle development challenges currently being faced by our people, getting international exposure and support as Samoa goes into partnerships with like minded nations.

Prime Minister Fiame made mention of some of the objectives she has in mind for the CHOGM 2024 in Samoa, during her joint press conference with her three colleague heads of government and the Commonwealth Secretary General.

“But it [CHOGM 2024] will be another good opportunity to refocus the Commonwealth on Small States and to review what had been determined through the SIDS [Small Island Developing States] Conference and the Samoa Pathway that was developed to review how we have progressed, in terms of what had been determined as a Blueprint for SIDS,” the Prime Minister said on Sunday.

In a bid to capitalise on the diversity of the Commonwealth, she also also talked about the benefits of how every Commonwealth member state was distinct and special in their own way.

“It will be an island environment and it is very important for the Commonwealth family to experience and to physically visit these places. 

“And I know myself, there are so many places in the Commonwealth that I have not been to, and I know from talking with colleagues from different parts of the Commonwealth family, that a lot of them have never been to our part of the world.”

Prime Minister Fiame only added to her browning points, showing her colours as Samoa’s top notch ambassador.

As Samoans with a rich cultural history going back over 3,000 years infused with the legendary myths of ancient seafarers, we believe the country and its people have a lot to offer in terms of our hospitality to visitors to our shores.

But the work to begin preparations for this international summit should begin now and in earnest with the whole of Government and in sync with the community.

This is not a task that the Government can take on alone – but the whole community should get on board and support it. We are confident it can happen in 2024 but everyone should be on the same page and with God by our side, everything and anything is possible.