Rwanda hosts Commonwealth amid outrage at Britain's migrants settlement deal
'The country of a thousand hills'
Some $4.7 million has been spent sprucing up the capital, with President Paul Kagame keen to portray "the country of a thousand hills" in the best possible light.
But the event, which was supposed to have been held in June 2020, takes place amid outrage at Britain's migrants settlement deal with Rwanda, and questions about the host's human rights record.
A controversial host
Rwanda, currently locked in a spat with the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo over its alleged support for M23 rebels, has been a controversial choice as CHOGM host since it was announced in 2018.
Summit amid tensions
The fall-out from the migrant deal potentially puts Queen Elizabeth II's heir Prince Charles in a tricky spot, as he makes his first trip to the east African country as her representative.
The visit is also the first to Rwanda by a British royal and will notably see the 73-year-old prince meet survivors of the 1994 genocide.
But his reported criticisms of the planned migrant deportations as "appalling" could make for an awkward meeting with Kagame and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson who back the scheme.
Next head of Commonwealth
Prince Charles has been anointed as the next head of the Commonwealth when he becomes king, taking over from his 96-year-old mother, who has championed the organisation since she came to the throne in 1952.
An unparalled force for good
Announcing his trip, Prince Charles said the fact that two-thirds of the grouping's population was aged under 30 can make the Commonwealth "an unparalleled force for good in our world", particularly on issues such as tackling climate change.
But Commonwealth watchers said that young people, who have no emotional attachment to the royals, could determine its future, loosening Britain's dominance of the organisation, many of whose members are former British colonies.
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