Thursday Dec 12, 2024
Thursday Dec 12, 2024
Tuesday, 17 April 2018 00:46 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
President Maithripala Sirisena arrived in London on Sunday to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). He is one amongst 53 leaders of State from around the world to arrive in the city of London which is agog and dressed up for the occasion, with heavy security beefed up in the city and a grand welcome awaited at the Buckingham Palace on Thursday.
The week-long summit will have around 5,000 key participants from Government, business, and civil society and is held under the theme ‘Towards a Common Future’. Thursday 19 April will mark the start of the Heads of Government program. The Mall, Parliament Square and Windsor are already lined with flags of the Commonwealth countries. A Commonwealth guard of honour and a 53 gun salute is scheduled and State leaders are to be welcomed by Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Minister Theresa May.
The Commonwealth that spans six continents is home to 2.4 billion citizens living in some of the world’s fastest growing economies and it already accounts for one-fifth of global trade and is home to a third of the world’s population. The summit is focusing on addressing common challenges across the Commonwealth and work to deliver a more prosperous, secure, sustainable and fairer future for this, Commonwealth’s 2.4 billion citizens.
A small army of 800 journalists have been accredited and are in London gathered at the Media centre at St. James adjacent to the Commonwealth House to report this global event held biannually. Commonwealth brings together the values and aspirations which unite the Commonwealth – democracy, human rights and the rule of law – and has a charter to be guided by, which is in a single, accessible document.
The Charter expresses the commitment of member states to the development of free and democratic societies and the promotion of peace and prosperity to improve the lives of all peoples of the Commonwealth. The Charter also acknowledges the role of civil society in supporting the goals and values of the Commonwealth.
The Summit which was originally designated to be hosted by Vanuatu at the end of 2017 but was moved to the United Kingdom as Vanuatu was no longer able to host the event due to the damage done by Cyclone Pam to the island nation's infrastructure. The meeting was postponed to the spring of 2018 due to other international commitments.
The position of Commonwealth Chair in office, held by the Government leader of the CHOGM host country, will be transferred at the summit from the Prime Minister of Malta to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who will hold the post until the 26th CHOGM expected in 2020 and likely to be held in Malaysia.
Commonwealth leaders will attend working sessions to discuss shared global challenges, attend a dinner hosted by Queen Elizabeth II, at Buckingham Palace and gather at Windsor Castle for the Leaders’ Retreat – a day when leaders engage in frank dialogue and set the course for future Commonwealth cooperation.
Leaders’ discussions will be informed and enriched by a variety of events, centred on four Forums taking place in London between 16-18 April: The Women’s Forum, People's Forum, Business Forum, and Youth Forum. A number of high profile speakers are expected to take part throughout the three days.
Meetings began in London yesterday with three days of Forums – covering youth, women, business and civil society, and culminate with the official retreat for leaders at Windsor Castle on Friday. At the retreat – unique to the Commonwealth – heads meet privately to discuss collaboration on global and Commonwealth priorities. They will also consider reform and renewal of the Commonwealth.
This will be the first CHOGM held following the United Kingdom’s decision to withdraw from the European Union, a decision which has resulted in calls for Britain to strengthen its ties with and play a greater role in the Commonwealth.
Theme – Towards a Common Future
The summit is focused on building on the strengths of the Commonwealth to ensure this unique organisation is responsive to global challenges and delivers a more prosperous, secure, sustainable and fair future for all its citizens, particularly its young people.
The four themes of the summit are:
Under consideration by leaders at CHOGM 2018, are:
On 18 April, leaders and ministers will attend a Small States Ministerial Meeting. The Commonwealth has long been an advocate for its 31 small states, which face unique challenges related to climate change and external economic shocks. Issues under discussion are resilience, climate change and disaster risk management. The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group – which assesses countries at risk of breaching fundamental political values – will also meet tomorrow.
On Wednesday, foreign ministers will review the leaders’ agenda and receive outcomes from the four Forums for consideration by heads, who will meet delegates at a joint forum breakfast on Thursday morning. Working sessions will be chaired by the UK Prime Minister and the focus is on the key priorities on the summit – Prosperity, security, sustainability and fairness.
The formal opening of CHOGM takes place at Buckingham Palace on Thursday morning after which leaders will convene for their first executive session.
On Friday morning, the Commonwealth Games Federation will host a breakfast for heads of Government. The summit concludes later that day when leaders will issue their communiqué and a leaders’ statement after their retreat.
CHOGM takes place every two years in different Commonwealth countries. The next host country will be decided at this summit. Most likely 2020 host of CHOGM is Malaysia.
This year's event is particularly significant as it is expected to be the last time the Queen, who is head of the Commonwealth, will ever attend. The monarch, who turns 92 next week, no longer undertakes foreign travel and next week's summit was moved to London in order for her to take part.
It is anticipated that one of the issues under discussion this week will be the subject of who will succeed her. Prince Charles has no automatic right of succession, but Buckingham Palace has been lobbying in recent years for him to step into her shoes.
The UK will host a reception, curated by the GREATBritain campaign, to showcase the best of the UK’s export examples through music, sport and technology. This will include the Premier league trophy, the men’s and women’s cricket world cup trophies. Alongside this, exhibits from the Commonwealth fashion exchange will be on display. Commonwealth-themed openings of the Stock Exchange is also to take place.
