With King Charles and Queen Camilla on their way, Samoa prepares for a royal visit and a meeting of Commonwealth heads of government.
Against the backdrop of this year’s Teuila Festival Samoans have been busy sprucing up the capital in readiness for next month’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, known as CHOGM.
Held every two years, the last general meeting was in Rwanda in 2022, although a special meeting was held in London last year for the coronation of King Charles III.
Leaders and representatives from 56 countries are expected to attend CHOGM in Samoa with King Charles and Queen Camilla heading the list of royals converging on the Pacific state.
For Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, preparations for the summit have been well underway.
“We’re accustomed to hosting large meetings; we hosted the SIDS meeting in 2014. Just towards the end of last year, we hosted the Samoa Agreement with the EU OACP meeting, and that’s a lot more countries than the 56,” she says.
“So the difference with this meeting is the level of representation and leaders coming; there are three monarchs who will be coming to Samoa, of course, His Majesty, King Charles, Queen Camilla.
“This will be his first Commonwealth since taking on the crown, it will also then be his first CHOGM meeting as King and head of the Commonwealth.”
The British royals will visit Australia and head to Samoa before CHOGM starts. They will have a completely separate bilateral programme highlighting Samoa’s relationship with the United Kingdom before the KIng settles into his duties as head of the Commonwealth. The CHOGM Meeting runs from Oct 21 to the 25th.
As well as preparing the nation for the meeting, Samoans have also been preparing the visitors for what to expect.
“Our task force took a video to London earlier this year and that essentially was a kick off, you know, to the promotions and awareness and the feedback from that, I think we have more leaders now indicating they’re coming,” Fiame says.
“And I’ve been very frank in my sort of discussions in London especially, I had an audience with the King, October’s very hot in Samoa. We’re not really keen for people to wear suits and be hot and uncomfortable.
“You know, we want to encourage more of an island vibe (but) just because it’s an island doesn’t mean we’re on holiday. It just means that people have to be comfortable. so we can have a good meeting.”
And the Prime Minister says, she’s made it clear to her “Commonwealth family” that coming to Samoa is not like going to London or Rwanda.
“You know, quite often we go to these international fora, people always say it’s so important that we have diversity in our membership. Well, this is going to be very diverse. But of course, in the fa’a Samoa way, we want the authentic Samoan hospitality to welcome people warmly, to take care of them, you know, and to be respectful in how we carry out our duties as hosts.”
And every effort is being made to ensure CHOGM is a success with Samoa’s public service providing the administrative backbone and private accommodation providers primed for the influx of visitors. A cruise ship with available cabins is also on standby to supplement accommodation needs.
Of course, security is a major concern and Samoa has been working with partners in New Zealand, Australia and the UK to make sure the event runs smoothly.
Meanwhile locals are being encouraged to learn more about the countries who will be represented at the summit encouraging villages enroute to Apia from the airport to “adopt a country” and make the visitors welcome.
“It’s an honour for Samoa to play host,” Fiame says.
“Of course, this offer was made quite a while back, you know, with the previous government. And I think it’s also timely; it brings the spotlight to the Pacific.
“You know, the geopolitical environment is very contested so we take every opportunity to place the message out there about the Pacific, our particular development needs and so forth.”
The theme for the Samoa CHOGM meeting is ‘One Resilient Common Future: Transforming our Common Wealth’ and Samoa’s Prime Minister says it’s one the people of the Pacific are very familiar with. And she’s keen to demonstrate that the Pacific is a very resilient region. “You know, despite all the challenges, we have been able to navigate, we have been able to give voice and make our contributions to the international family, and all in the objective of promoting peace and prosperity for all.”
