The Prime Minister of Samoa, Hon. Fiamē Naomi Mataʻafa, and the Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, have announced that the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) will be held in Apia, Samoa, beginning on 21 October 2024. CHOGM – customarily held every two years – is the Commonwealth’s primary political meeting.

Building on progress since CHOGM 2022, leaders will deliberate on global economic, environmental and security challenges, and discuss how the contemporary Commonwealth can work together to build resilience, boost trade, innovation, growth, and empower the Commonwealth’s 1.5 billion young people to build a more peaceful, sustainable future. Commonwealth Leaders selected Samoa as the incoming Chair-In-Office and host of the next CHOGM at last year’s Heads of Government Meeting in Rwanda.

It will be the first CHOGM to be held in a Pacific Small Island Developing State and the first since Gabon and Togo officially joined the Commonwealth, increasing the number of member nations to 56.

The Samoa Prime Minister said: “We look forward to welcoming the Commonwealth family to our home. We are weathering unprecedented times as the Commonwealth and the world in general; the adaptive response is anchored in solidarity and building resilience as a matter of survival.”

The Commonwealth Secretary-General stated: “As we continue to deliver the mandates from our fantastic CHOGM in Kigali last year, we are already looking forward to CHOGM 2024. And it comes at a vital time –especially as the impacts of climate change intensify – so it is fitting that our global family will meet for the first time on a Pacific Island.”