(Adnkronos) – King Charles has arrived in Samoa for a four-day state visit, during which he will chair a meeting of Commonwealth presidents and prime ministers for the first time. Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata’afa welcomed the King and Queen Camilla at Faleolo International Airport, where a red carpet had been rolled out despite strong winds. The King and Queen, who yesterday concluded their six-day tour of Australia, posted a message on social media saying they were “looking forward” to arriving in Samoa and experiencing the “warmth” of the country’s ancient traditions. The tweet contained a few words in Samoan which can be translated as “I look forward to meeting the Samoan people”.
The King, as Head of the Commonwealth, will formally open the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (Chogm) on the theme “A Resilient Common Future”, which will also be attended by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Charles replaced Queen Elizabeth II during the last meeting hosted by Rwanda in 2022 and will be joined in Samoa by Foreign Secretary David Lammy. The meeting will also discuss climate change, a topic very dear to the King’s heart, but very close to home for Samoa – a small country in the south-central Pacific Ocean made up of an archipelago of nine islands – very vulnerable to sea level rise.
