Your Grace, Archbishop Mosese Vitolio Tui, Your Majesties, Your Highnesses, Commonwealth Secretary General, Excellencies, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen.
The people of Samoa have been eagerly awaiting your arrival, the Leaders and delegates of CHOGM 2024.
Therefore, on behalf of the Government, and especially the people of Samoa, it is my pleasure and honour to officially welcome all of you to the 27th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
This is a historic first to be hosted by a Small Island State in the Blue Pacific Continent, and it is also the first meeting under the leadership of His Majesty King Charles III as the Head of the Commonwealth Family.
We also gather in Samoa as we celebrate 75 years of the Modern Commonwealth. Thus, we pause to pay tribute to those who have paved the way for where we are today. In particular, the late Queen Elizabeth II, in her stellar leadership of our family, but more importantly, her unifying role.
Our theme ONE RESILIENT COMMON FUTURE: TRANSFORMING OUR COMMON WEALTH highlights the importance of a UNITED Commonwealth Aiga, or Family. Samoa chose the critical focus on resilience as it transcends all pillars of the Commonwealth, prioritising collective action that weaves resilience into all choices for a Commonwealth where societies stand strong, institutions uphold justice, environments flourish, and economies thrive.
The fa'asamoa, or Samoan way of life, exemplifies collective responsibility, encapsulating values, such as respect, dignity, love, protection, and service. This ethos aligns with the principles of the Commonwealth Charter, uniting the Commonwealth Aiga (Family) of 56 nations, representing one-third of the global population. When we speak of a Commonwealth Family, or Aiga, you will note that our choice of theme and policy focus centres on the criticality of family to community and country. As we say in Samoa ‘ole aiga ole anofale o afioaga’—the aiga is the core and essence of communities and organisations.
This Family of nations, diverse in size and development status, if we focus on what unites us, our Aiga, our people will remain resilient. We share common beliefs and values, where every member’s contribution is significant.
Our decision to invite, only one special guest from our neighbour and kin, American Samoa, demonstrates the value we give to family, or aiga. Over the years we have established a framework ‘Atoa Samoa’ or, ‘Samoas together’—by which the two countries, though governed under different administrations, meet annually to discuss areas of shared priorities and mutual benefit.
The Leaders of our Commonwealth Aiga meet every two years to deliberate on how to better the lives of our citizens, and I hope we will move closer to this goal through our deliberations this week.
What really defines our Commonwealth Family are the values enshrined in the Commonwealth Charter and the commitment to good governance, the rule of law, and the protection of rights. The Commonwealth has been a constant in Samoa’s journey as an independent nation, partnering to promote and advance shared goals of development, democracy, human rights, freedom, and peace. They stood with us as we went through our constitutional crisis in 2021, but it was evident these values, especially the pillars of our society, our faith, culture, and the rule of law continues to carry us through as a stable and peaceful nation.
We are in a new era of leadership. The Commonwealth we need is on the frontlines of global challenges, and our strength lies in spotlighting issues that might otherwise be overlooked. The hosting of CHOGM 2024 in the Pacific is a great opportunity for all to experience our lived reality with climate change. It is the greatest threat to the survival and security of Pacific people.
Samoa, the first independent state in the Pacific, is a key advocate of ambitious climate action in order to keep the promise of a 1.5 degree world. We have a youthful population, many of them on migration journeys under labour mobility schemes. We are not on track for some of our SDGs, but we are working at a pace commensurate with available resources and strengthened cultural safety nets. We contribute to United Nations peace keeping, but have no military. We know that where there is no peace there will be no prosperity.
Your Majesties, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen.
In passing the leadership torch from Rwanda to Samoa we have inherited a legacy of reconciliation of division, bold leadership, and stewardship in maximizing the use of resources in order to harness potential from every man, woman and child. We thank Rwanda for their leadership lessons, we have learnt from their experiences to guide us in our journey over the next two years.
We also laud the excellent and passionate leadership of Right Honourable Patricia Scotland. A true champion of Small Island States and a friend of Samoa.
Finally, you are all invited to reduce the CHOGM carbon foot print from air travel emissions and create a CHOGM Lowland Forest, as part of the Vailima Botanical Garden, where all countries have been allocated space to plant one of our native species and kickstart Samoa’s national carbon offset programme.
Many of you could not stop talking about how far Samoa was. All we have to say is, welcome to our reality. Now you know the lengths we, as Pacific people, will go to tell our story, to defend our positions, but more importantly, to protect our people, our land, and our way of life.
You being here already makes it a successful CHOGM in Samoa.
Safe journey home when you all travel back, and I am confident you will all take a piece of our beautiful Samoa with you.
God Bless
Soifua
CHOGM 2024
