London – March 2024. The Secretary-General of the commonwealth, Rt. Hon. Patricia Scotland, will make her first official visit to Kingdom of Tonga between 30 March to 3 April 2024.
The Commonwealth Secretary General will hold discussions with the Prime Minister Hon. Hu’akavameiliku, Deputy Prime Minister Hon. Samiu Vaipulu, Foreign Affairs Minister Hon. Fekitamoeloa ʻUtoikamanu, and other Cabinet Ministers, and public figures in Nuku’alofa.
While in Tonga, the Secretary-General will visit communities affected by the 2022 HTHH volcanic eruption, and learn about the impact of the disaster on their lives and livelihoods, the Commonwealth Secretariat has confirmed.
The Secretary-General’s schedule also includes engagements with young people, women’s rights groups, and civil society representatives. She is also expected to return to Tonga this August to attend the Pacific Island Forum (PIF) Leaders Meeting.
Before arriving in Tonga next week Baroness Scotland will visit Samoa who will host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) between 21 and 25 October 2024. Samoa will be the first Pacific small island state to host CHOGM.
Ahead of her visit, Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said, “Samoa and Tonga are wonderful countries with strong cultural links, and I am so happy to be returning to the Pacific.”
“Both countries are central to our Commonwealth family and embody the values and commitments we share, with their governments and people actively contributing to the partnerships which make the modern Commonwealth so strong and dynamic… I look forward to working closely with the Commonwealth’s members in the region to confront shared challenges, seize shared opportunities, and support their goals to deliver a resilient common future for all.”
During her engagements in both countries, the Secretary-General will update leaders and ministers about an array of Commonwealth programmes designed to help member countries strengthen democratic institutions, build resilient economies, and protect the environment.
She will highlight the Commonwealth’s coordinated response to unlocking funding for climate action through the Climate Finance Access Hub, ocean challenges through the Blue Charter, land degradation issues through the Living Lands Charter, and a just energy transition through Sustainable Energy Transition Agenda.
A critical CHOGM
“Our Head of Government Meeting in Samoa comes at a seminal moment, especially as the impacts of the climate crisis become more intense, more frequent, and more devastating,” she said.
“The Pacific’s united and powerful advocacy for climate action continues to inspire me, the Commonwealth, and the wider world. As far back as the 1980s, the Commonwealth has stood shoulder to shoulder with the Pacific in partnership and solidarity, raising the alarm on this existential threat of environmental breakdown and calling for decisive global action.”
“The decisions leaders will make together at this meeting will have a profound impact on the well-being of our people and the planet,” she said.
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