King Charles sips narcotic brew in Samoa

Despite the warm ceremony, the cloud over UK reparations for historical transatlantic slavery remains. The event is part of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa.

Britain's King Charles III took part in a traditional kava-drinking ceremony in Samoa on Thursday, as he prepared to be made a "high chief" of the Pacific island.

The peppery root drink is a key part of Pacific culture and has mild psychoactive properties.

"May God bless this ava," the king said, using the local name for the drink, before lifting it to his lips.

Charles is among leaders and officials from 56 countries with roots in the British Empire attending the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) that began on Monday.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said earlier in the week that the UK will not bring the issue of reparations for historical transatlantic slavery to the table at the summit, but is open to engage with leaders who want to talk about it.

Charles' first trip since cancer diagnosis

Charles has paused his cancer treatment to take part in the 11-day tour of Australia and Samoa.

Wearing a cream safari-style suit, the 75-year-old sat on a stage at the head of a carved timber longhouse. There he was given a polished half-coconut filled with the mildly narcotic brew, a peppery, slightly intoxicating root drink which is a key part of Pacific culture.

The kava roots were paraded around the marquee, and finally prepared by the chief's daughter before being filtered through a sieve made of the dried bark of a fau tree.

Charles was later scheduled to visit the village of Moata'a, where he will be made "Tui Taumeasina" or high chief.

"We feel honored that he has chosen to be welcomed here in our village. So as a gift, we would like to bestow him a title," said Lenatai Victor Tamapua, a local chief who will bestow the title on Charles.

What's on the agenda for CHOGM?

Issues like climate change and slavery were expected to be on the agenda as dozens of leaders from around the world convened.

From the 15th to the 19th century, at least 12.5 million Africans were forcibly transported by European ships and merchants before being sold into slavery. Those who survived the brutal trip ended up toiling on plantations in inhumane conditions in the Americas, mostly in Brazil and the Caribbean.

"Reparations are not on the agenda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting," Starmer's spokesperson, Dave Pares, said ahead of the summit.

"The government's position has not changed. We do not pay reparations."

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa are not in attendance as they are at the BRICS summit hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is another notable absentee.

jsi/zc (AFP, Reuters, AP)