Following his working visit to China, President James Michel travels to Perth, Australia this week to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

In Perth, President Michel will join the leaders of 54 nations for the Commonwealth meeting, which will be opened by Queen Elizabeth II.

The theme for CHOGM 2011 is "Building global resilience, building national resilience".

The development challenges faced by small island nations, such as climate change as well as piracy in the western Indian Ocean, are expected to be subjects of the President's discussions with other world leaders.

President Michel will be accompanied by Minister for Foreign Affairs Jean-Paul Adam, Secretary of State in the Office of the President Barry Faure,  and the Seychelles High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Patrick Pillay.

Around 3,000 delegates are expected to attend the 2011 CHOGM e, which for the most part is conducted in closed-session meetings, as well as several parallel forums such as the Commonwealth Business Forum.

CHOGM is a gathering to pursue trade and investment opportunities, and reinforce people-to-people links between Commonwealth leaders and businesses, as well as an opportunity to a promote shared values and ideals.