Officials from the Commonwealth Secretariat visited Samoa recently to check on the country’s preparations to host the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (C.H.O.G.M.).

The Samoa Government confirmed the 17–21 October 2022 visit in a press release issued on Tuesday by the Press Secretariat.

The team based in London comprised Claire Wolstenholme and Chantal Sciberras and is the first planning mission that has visited Samoa in preparation for the 27th C.H.O.G.M. in Apia in two years time.

They met with the Prime Minister, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa as well as members of the Samoa Government’s National Taskforce that is overseeing the preparations for the global summit, according to the Press Secretariat.

They also visited several venue and accommodation options, and discussed security, accreditation, transport, protocol and several operational matters related to the meeting.

The mission last month is the first of several planned by the Commonwealth Secretariat and other countries, as Samoa prepares to host the first Pacific SIDS gathering of the Commonwealth family.

Samoas’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (M.F.A.T.) will lead the taskforce that will liaise closely with the Commonwealth Secretariat on all the preparations. The decisions on the dates and venue for the Samoa CHOGM 2024 will be finalised before the end of this year.

C.H.O.G.M. will bring together delegations from 56 nations from across Africa, the Caribbean and Americas, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific. The Leaders of Commonwealth countries meet every two years, hosted by different member countries on a rotating basis. Since 1971, a total of 26 meetings have been held, with the most recent being in Kigali Rwanda in June 2022, which Prime Minister Fiame also attended. The recent C.H.O.G.M. in Rwanda recorded more than 6000 delegates and 29 heads of government.

Speaking at a press conference convened after the C.H.O.G.M. in Rwanda, Prime Minister Fiame said Samoa will begin preparations to host the 2024 summit in Apia and said leaders can expect an island experience.