ST JOHN’S, Antigua–Leaders from across the Commonwealth have begun arriving in Antigua and Barbuda for the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
Among those who have arrived are Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Guyanese President Mohamed Irfaan Ali.
King Charles III, head of the Commonwealth, is also in Antigua and Barbuda. This will be his second CHOGM as King, following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in 2022.
Representatives from 56 Commonwealth member countries are expected to participate in the summit.
This is only the third time CHOGM has been held in the Caribbean.
Jamaica hosted the third meeting in 1975, while Trinidad and Tobago 21st hosted the summit in 2009.
Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne has expressed confidence in both the staging of CHOGM 2026, which runs from November 1 to 4, and the outcomes it will produce.
According to Antigua News, Browne told attendees at a pre-Independence and Commonwealth welcome reception on October 31 that the summit must deliver meaningful action and strengthen the Commonwealth’s role in promoting global stability and progress.
He said he wants the organisation to be repositioned as “a more consequential force for global good, stability and progress”, while addressing concerns that the Commonwealth could become a talking shop.
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