The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Kamalesh Sharma, toured the Pacific from 29 October to 9 November in what was his first official visit to Nauru and Kiribati. The Secretary-General was in Nauru from 29-31 October where he met President Sprent Dabwido along with the Speaker of Parliament and a host of other dignitaries and ministers.
He made an address touching on Commonwealth reform and the Commonwealth technical assistance partnership. He also pledged the support of the Commonwealth for Nauru as the current Chair of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), which comprises 40 member countries.
Kiribati welcomed the Secretary-General from 6-8 November where he was received by President Anote Tong and Vice-President and Minister of Internal and Social Affairs, Teima Onorio, among others.
During his visit, Sharma visited areas that have been directly affected by climate change, such as the village of Te Bikenikoora. He offered his sympathies to the i-Kiribati communities living in these affected areas and highlighted the work being done to manage and deal with climate change at the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) based in Samoa.
