The Commonwealth Secretary-General has dismissed comments regarding the state of a beachside resort in Samoa that will host the King Charles during Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in October.
Last week, UK’s The Telegraph published a story about “a rush to upgrade” the resort after reviews condemned its “musty linens, outdated tiles and rattling air cons”.
The article has infuriated Samoans, who took to social media to express their disappointment at the Telegraph’s reporting.
On 22 July, Talamua Online News reported that a former Samoan foreign affairs officer as, “Typical ‘palagi’ (Western or white) media! Always looking for the bad to report.”
Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland told RNZ Pacific despite the reviews, Samoa is ready to host the high-level meeting.
“Every one of us knows we are coming to a small island developing state,” Scotland said.
“[Prime Minister] Fiame has already said leave your ties and suits behind, you are now coming to the Pacific.”
The Telegraph did not name the resort “for security reasons” and said it had secured £85,000 (WST$300,000) in government funding to upgrade the property ahead of the royal visit.
“A large chunk of the money will be used to upgrade the presidential suite, where Their Majesties will likely stay, while other funds will be used to install baths, water features, improve the driveway to the presidential suite and the entrance roundabout,” it reported.
Scotland said the reporting by the Telegraph does not affect the Commonwealth Secretariat’s confidence to host a successful CHOGM.
“This is not Samoa’s CHOGM. This is the Pacific’s CHOGM so everybody in the Pacific is going to be showcasing that we are one family.
“There is nowhere else that can give you a Pacific welcome, like the Pacific.”
She said it is not the first high-level meeting that is going to be held in the region.
“We are going to CHOGM to talk about some really important issues and at the top of our agenda will be small island developing states vulnerability…what are we going to do about climate change?
“It will be what are we going to do about debt because the Commonwealth has been pushing hard that we should have a universal vulnerability index, that it should not be just GDP, which will be the final arbiter.”
She said there is a big push on what the Commonwealth needs to do on digitalisation.
“The Commonwealth has been doing a lot of work on AI. We’ve created an AI consortium and an AI Academy for our young people so that we can really understand and learn how to use a AI safely.
“But we know that AI is going to add US$15.7 trillion onto the global economy by 2030. We want to make sure that all of our countries get an opportunity to have a slice of that new future. And we don’t leave anyone behind.”
Other topics that delegates will be discussing at the meeting will also include topics on trade, youth and women empowerment and employment.
Meanwhile, Scotland said the discussion on the unrest in New Caledonia requires a “process” for CHOGM.
Last week, the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) leaders endorsed a high-level mission to New Caledonia in August, and a report will be presented at the 53rd Leaders’ Summit in Tonga.
She said while the situation is crucial for Pacific leaders to address, not all PIF members are part of the Commonwealth.
“The focus will be on those countries and those issues which concern all the members of the 56 members of the Commonwealth, so its up to them,” she said.
