It was heartwarming to witness our people come together to host the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
I have been a part of over 30 such meetings and must say that this was one of the best that I had attended.
Of course, that is a biased view as Samoa will always be the best!
We felt the warmth of Samoa’s welcome from the signs, Commonwealth flags, and beautiful decorations put up by our villages and communities, as well as those happy smiles.
Our Police and their fellow officers from the region kept everyone safe, kept traffic flowing and looked very smart at the guard of honour.
I attended and participated the various forums and discussions and was impressed with the exchange of views that took place between the various international experts and our local people.
Our local experts gave as good as they took, and I am sure that the overseas experts learned from our experiences.
The cultural events were outstanding as we showcased our traditional ceremonies, dances, artifacts and customs.
We now have even more Samoan matais amongst the world leaders, including our good friend Tagaloa Sitiveni Rabuka who shared with me how honoured he was to receive his title.
I also met with friends from Tonga, Nauru, Fiji, Solomon Islands, and PNG.
All of this would not have happened without the long hours of work from our village chiefs and community leaders, church leaders, dedicated civil servants, private sector, civil society, the youths and young children of Samoa, and many more.
We hope that they can now get some well-deserved rest.
Many good things can come from CHOGM.
Let us follow up on the leaders’ commitments to solidarity and collective solutions.
Use the opportunities from CHOGM to find solutions to Samoa’s economic, environmental and social challenges to build a better future for our children.
There were many references during CHOGM of the importance of the collective responsibilities of leaders to serving the interests of their communities.
We will have time to learn many lessons from the meeting, with the usual last-minute miscommunication and stresses that were sorted out amongst our capable people.
Those moments have now passed.
For now, let us celebrate and show both our happy toothy and toothless smiles.
Thank you, Samoa, fa’afetai tele lava.
You have again shown the world how the Fa’a Samoa is still at the core of our way of life and how it delivers for our people.
Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi
Leader of HRPP
Prime Minister of Samoa 1998 – 2021
