Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland was delighted to welcome Fiji’s High Commissioner, Jitoko Tikolevu, to the Secretariat’s headquarters in London today.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland was delighted to welcome Fiji’s High Commissioner, Jitoko Tikolevu, to the Secretariat’s headquarters in London today.
During a wide-ranging discussion, Mr Tikolevu confirmed that Fiji will be hosting the 20th Commonwealth Ministers of Education Meeting in March 2018. Secretary-General Scotland and he also discussed the challenges of climate change and rising sea levels.
Tackling climate change is one of the major priorities for the Secretary-General. At the COP22 conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, last year she called on the world to move from “from agreement to action”.
Fiji, a Commonwealth member state, will host COP23, the next round of climate change talks in Bonn, Germany, in November.
Secretary-General Scotland said, “There are few greater challenges facing us than the existential threat of climate change. The next round of climate talks are being chaired by Fiji, and this is an historic moment because for the first time they’re being chaired by a small island developing state. Fiji lives under the shadow of climate change and has had to relocate its citizens under the ‘climate change refugee’ programme.
"As we prepare for COP 23, our shared goal, along with the United Nations, is to help Commonwealth member countries access the support they badly need. I believe that only together can we deliver on the Paris Agreement and ensure it has an enduring positive legacy, especially for the smallest and most vulnerable countries.”
