Prime Minister Joseph Muscat informally kicked off CHOGM this afternoon by announcing at a press conference that a Centre of Excellence will be set up in Malta to serve as a focal point for assistance to 31 Commonwealth small states and jurisdictions.

The centre is a joint initiative between Malta and the Commonwealth Secretariat and Malta will be contributing €100,000 to it as seed capital.  

Dr Muscat said the new centre will provide tailor-made programmes to assist small states through online resources and referral services. 

Assistance would be given in areas such as debt management, management of public finances, e-government projects, management of natural disasters, training of civil servants and diplomats, promotion of women's rights and trade promotion.

Malta, Dr Muscat said, was a thriving country and it wanted to interact and share its experiences with the other small Commonwealth states.

The Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Kamalesh Sharma, said the Commonwealth wanted to show itself as a visionary organisation.

He underlined the importance of the centre announced by Dr Muscat, saying that in the years to come this CHOGM would be remembered as a watershed moment in the service of small states. It was a moment to show the whole world that outcomes in global discourse had to be equal for everyone and equity should be at the heart of international relations.

The theme of the summit will be Adding Global Value and there would be particular focus on climate change ahead of the summit in the coming days.

The Commonwealth, he said, represented 53 states with a diversity of cultures and ideas which made it a microcosm of the whole world.

Mr Sharma also praised the level of preparedness for CHOGM, saying Malta was 'outstanding'.

CHOGM formally gets under way with an opening ceremony on Friday morning. Queen Elizabeth II, head of the Commonwealth, arrives tomorrow afternoon. 

Replying to questions, Dr Muscat said that as chairman, he would present the Commonwealth's views at the Climate Change conference next week.

Indeed, making the Commonwealth heard more in world affairs was what he viewed as being a priority for the Commonwealth. 

Dr Muscat said he also intends to attend the EU summit with Turkey on Sunday.

Dr Muscat confirmed that French president Francois Hollande would  attend CHOGM and said ways to tackle extremism and radicalism would be discussed. He said he expected CHOGM to give a warm welcome to the French president following the tragic events in Paris.