Tonga and other small states that are the most vulnerable, socially and economically in the world will be the focus at The Commonwealth’s Fourth Global Biennial Conference held in the Seychelles this week (12-13 May, 2016).

The conference will look at the realities such as climate change and natural disasters that hinder small states social and economic growth.

Tonga’s Executive Director of the Civil Society Forum of Tonga (CSFT), Emeline Siale Ilolahia, will be one of a host of participants attending from these vulnerable countries as well as a wide range of stakeholders from government, business, civil society and academia, IMF, World Bank, OECD and United Nations. Emeline will be a respondent in Session 4: “The Future We Want: Different Perspectives” at the conference.

In a statement today, The Commonwealth Secretariat stated that 31 of 53 Commonwealth countries classed as small states face unique challenges specific to their size and location. The small states are often overlooked and left to contend with economic and climate shocks that can wipe out entire economies overnight. Destruction created by Cyclone Winston in Fiji earlier this year is a recent chilling reminder.

The participants will share the latest research, explore new opportunities and gain a better understanding of small states’ priorities and vulnerabilities. They will also discuss solid ways to build resilience and secure financing to achieve their development goals over two days on 12 and 13 May.

The outcome of these discussions is expected to create policy recommendations and to update national, regional and global development programmes.

Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General, Deodat Maharaj, said “We have seen a gear change on action to tackle global problems with a series of landmark international agreements”.

 “But signing up is not enough since the journey now begins. We need urgent and innovative financing solutions to provide much needed resources for mitigation and adaptation,” said Deodat.

“This is an important event in the Commonwealth calendar because it is one of the few opportunities for small states to meet and find solutions to common challenges. It is our hope outcomes from these deliberations will go some way to influencing policy and also provide practical and concrete support for our member states.”

The Commonwealth advocates for small states and undertakes policy research on building resilience, alleviating debt burdens, improving access to finance, enhancing trade terms and responding to climate change and other disasters. At last year’s leaders’ summit in Malta, the Commonwealth launched the Climate Finance Access Hub [2]. The initiative will help small states access funds to tackle climate change.