APIA, Samoa - Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will be attending his first Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting since he became head of government in May 2024.
PM Wong, who is also Finance Minister, will visit Apia, Samoa, from Oct 23 to Oct 26. He is expected to take part in various discussions with other leaders at the conference, which is also known as Chogm.
It is the first time a Pacific Island state is hosting the meeting, whose theme in 2024 is One Resilient Common Future.
Commonwealth leaders will review developments in the grouping and discuss salient global issues, including climate change and building resilient economies, said a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office on Oct 23.
PM Wong will also hold bilateral meetings with other leaders on the sidelines of the meeting.
The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of 56 member states, of which 33 are small states. Chogm is a biennial summit meeting of member countries’ heads of government or state.
Leaders at the 2024 meeting include King Charles, who is attending his first Chogm since his coronation in 2023. The new head of the Commonwealth will be hosting a reception for new heads of government, who include PM Wong.
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PM Wong will be accompanied on the trip by his wife, and Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan.
Separately, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said Dr Balakrishnan will be in Apia on Oct 23 and Oct 24 for the Commonwealth Ministerial Meeting on Small States (CMMSS) and the Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting (CFAMM). He will also meet bilaterally with his counterparts on the sidelines of both meetings.
At the CMMSS, foreign ministers discussed challenges confronting small states and concrete ways to build resilience and address vulnerabilities, such as to climate change.
Dr Balakrishnan told the meeting that Singapore wants to make common cause with all small island developing states in the green transition, and listed three ways the Republic can be a partner in this respect.
First, it will be happy to share high-resolution climate projections it has done for South-east Asia, as well as its methodology and underlying technology to conduct similar studies elsewhere. Such data, gathered through Singapore’s National Climate Change Studies, provides what Singapore believes is “the common scientific basis to prepare for a climate-resilient future”, said Dr Balakrishnan.
Second, the Republic has estimated an annual funding gap of at least US$300 billion (S$396 billion) needed for climate mitigation and adaptation in Asia. That is why it launched a blended finance platform called Financing Asia’s Transition Partnership aimed at promoting renewable energy and decarbonisation projects, he added.
Blended finance is the practice of combining development and philanthropic funding with private capital in order to raise the necessary sums for capital-intensive projects, such as building greener energy infrastructure.
Third, Singapore is also happy to help other countries build their expertise in taking action on climate change by sharing its experience, such as through the Singapore Cooperation Programme, added Dr Balakrishnan.
At the CFAMM, MFA said foreign ministers will review developments in the Commonwealth and discuss issues of common interest to the member states, including sustainable development and climate change.
Singapore hosted the first Chogm in 1971, which witnessed the adoption of the Singapore Declaration of Commonwealth Principles – a foundational document that set out the grouping’s key tenets.
They include commitments to uphold free trade, promote cooperation for peace and security, and a reaffirmation of the key principle of sovereignty, among other things.
The previous Chogm in 2022 was held in Rwanda, and was attended by then Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
In PM Wong’s absence, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat will be the acting prime minister.