Rwanda

The breakfast meeting was held as a side event to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2022 (CHOGM2022) being held here in Rwanda.

Speaking at the event earlier today, Hu’akavameiliku said the Government and the people of Tonga fully support the mandate, as the need to commit to actions that would help in tackling climate issues is urgent.

The Living Lands Charter looks to address the issues of climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation.

It will be presented before Commonwealth Leaders here in Kigali for their consideration and endorsement.

Rwanda is partnering with Silicon Valley drone startup Zipline to deliver medical supplies to five of its hospitals. Within a year, they plan to expand the program to nearly half of the country's 45 hospitals. The drones will make up to 150 deliveries a day.

Previously, it took an average of four hours to make an emergency delivery to a hospital. With a drone, those deliveries can be completed in 15 minutes, according to Jean Philbert Nsengimana, Rwanda's minister of information and communication technology.

The operation uses fixed-wing drones that automatically fly to destinations in the central African nation.

They release small packages attached to parachutes without needing to land at the delivery points before returning.

The technology promises to make deliveries much faster than had previously been possible by road.

Zipline - the US start-up running the project - is made up of engineers who formerly worked at Space X, Google, Lockheed Martin and other tech companies.