Commonwealth Secretariat confirms Sri Lanka as venue for 2013 CHOGM Summit

Sri Lanka will host the 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) from 15 to 17 November this year, the Commonwealth Secretariat website said via an announcement dated 11 March.

“The choice of each CHOGM venue is a collective decision taken by Commonwealth leaders,” the Secretariat said.

It also said at the 2007 CHOGM in Kampala, Uganda, Heads took note of the offer from the President of Sri Lanka for his country to host CHOGM.

At their meeting in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, two years later, Commonwealth leaders accepted the offer from the Prime Minister of Australia to host the 2011 CHOGM.



They also accepted the offers of the President of Sri Lanka and the Prime Minister of Mauritius to host the 2013 and 2015 CHOGMs respectively.

Meeting in Perth, Australia in 2011, Commonwealth Heads of Government reaffirmed their decisions to meet next in Sri Lanka in 2013 and thereafter in Mauritius in 2015. They also welcomed the offer by Malaysia to host the 2019 CHOGM, the web announcement added.

On Monday, the Commonwealth Day was celebrated with the signing of historic charter, an historic document which brings together, for the first time in the association’s 64-year history, key declarations on Commonwealth principles.

Head of the Commonwealth, HM Queen Elizabeth II, has signed the Commonwealth Charter.

She addressed High Commissioners and dignitaries at the Commonwealth Day Reception at Marlborough House in London.

Noting the Commonwealth Day 2013 theme ‘Opportunity through Enterprise’, Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma said: “Converting the words of the Charter into practical action and results can be achieved and indeed accelerated by taking full advantage of opportunities created by enterprising Commonwealth citizens, organisations and governments.”

Since 1977, Commonwealth Day has been celebrated on the second Monday in March each year – a day when schools are open in all Commonwealth countries. It is an opportunity to promote understanding on democratic values, the dignity of citizens and opportunities for youth across the Commonwealth.