Pacific island Niue wants seat at Commonwealth leaders table

23/10/2024 13:53

        Niue celebrated 50 years of self-government on Saturday, with Britain's King Charles issuing a congratulatory video, but the Pacific Island state is excluded from this week's Commonwealth leaders meeting, and its prime minister wants change.
        
        Known informally as the Rock of Polynesia, Niue was settled by Samoans in 900AD and has a population of around 1,500.
        
        Yet as Samoa hosts the 75th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, where leaders and officials from 56 countries with roots in Britain's empire are gathering in the Pacific for the first time, Niue was not invited.
        
        "There is no use being Commonwealth family yet we can't attend these meetings. It's a bit weird," said Prime Minister Dalton Tagelagi in an interview. "We have put through questions on how to become a member." The remote island, 635 km south of Samoa, was sighted in 1774 by British explorer James Cook, who was refused permission to land by locals.
        
        Cook named it Savage Island, and Niue became a British Protectorate 126 years later.