Heads of government and business leaders from Commonwealth countries are seeking to mobilise more than $52 billion in investment for 28 developing countries at the 2026 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

The leaders are meeting in investment-focused discussions to attract financing for investment-ready projects and ease trade restrictions among member states. They are also expected to consider measures to address sustainable debt, improve access to concessional financing and expand opportunities for young people.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Samoa’s outgoing Commonwealth chair-in-office, Deputy Prime Minister Mulipola Ale-Molio’o, called for increased climate financing to support vulnerable countries.

She warned that rising global temperatures were already causing permanent losses in several nations and communities.

“The world is already pushing past the critical 1.5°C threshold. Many nations and communities are facing permanent losses,” she said.

Ms Ale-Molio’o called for accessible, predictable and grant-based climate financing to help vulnerable countries respond to climate change.

“No nation should have to borrow its way out of a crisis it did so little to create,” she said.

The summit will also feature ‘Youth, Women’s, People’s and Business Forums’, alongside discussions on blue finance, eye health, governance, democracy and sports development.

With 60 per cent of Commonwealth citizens under 30, leaders are expected to consider ways to expand education, skills development and entrepreneurship opportunities for young people.