5 Nov 2012

Commonwealth leader heads to Kiribati

6:31 am on 5 November 2012

The Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Kamalesh Sharma, says as Kiribati struggles with the impacts of climate change it is important agencies such as his step up.

Mr Sharma has been visiting key Pacific Island states - last week he was in Nauru and then travelled to Kiribati over the weekend.

He told the Nauru Government that the Commonwealth would help it unlock climate change funding, and he intends making Kiribati a similar offer.

But Mr Sharma says the Commonwealth has to be careful to bring to bear its own comparative advantage.

"There is a lot of bi-lateral co-operation going on, there's regional organisations, there's environmental organisations but I will try and seek to find where we can add value, and as I have succeeded in doing in Nauru, creating a very very interesting and realistic manual for engagement, I hope I can do that in Kiribati as well."