Commonwealth summit opens

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Nigerian President 
Olesegun Obasanjo smile at the official opening of the 
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Abuja, 
Nigeria, 5 December 2003
AFP PHOTO/POOL/PA/Stefan Rousseau 

Sunday, December 7, 2003

ABUJA, Nigeria: To the beat of drums and the tones of a traditional Nigerian choir, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II opened a summit of Commonwealth leaders in the Nigerian capital of Abuja on Friday.

A total of 52 heads of government and national representatives of mainly former British colonies are in Abuja for the four-day meeting, with the thorny issue of Zimbabwe topping the agenda.

"Eradicating poverty, fighting terror, bridging the digital divide and building a more peaceful world are some of the challenges this meeting will have to face," the Queen said.

"Your decisions can make a real difference to people's lives."

The Commonwealth is a voluntary body with total of 54 members representing 1.8 billion people in nations as diverse as India and the tiny Pacific island of Tuvalu, although Pakistan and Zimbabwe are currently suspended.

President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria said hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) was an honour for his country and "signifies the progress made in democratic governance."

Commonwealth Secretary General Don McKinnon said one of the most important issues the meeting would have to discuss was an end to trade barriers.

"The success of this summit will not lie in the words that it generates but its impact on people's lives and that is how we should measure our success," said McKinnon.

"Democracy and development are the twin engines of progress and no one will get very far flying on a single engine."

Former New Zealand foreign minister McKinnon was Friday re-elected for a second four-year term as the Commonwealth's secretary general, Canada's Prime Minister Jean Chretien said.

McKinnon's first term had been due to end in May next year. His re-election removes one of the possible sources of conflict in a summit already marred by fierce disagreements over Zimbabwe's suspension from the world body.

"It was a vote and he won," Chretien told reporters after a meeting of Commonwealth leaders on the first day of their summit.

McKinnon was challenged for the post by a surprise candidate from Sri Lanka, former foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.

Chretien would not give the results of the vote, saying only that it was "not unanimous."

Also on Friday, Commonwealth leaders set up an ad hoc six nation working party, chaired by Prime Minister Patterson of Jamaica, to meet on the sidelines of their Abuja summit in a bid to avoid a damaging battle over Zimbabwe's suspension from the global body, officials said.

New Zealand's Prime Minister Helen Clark said there was no mood among members to lift the suspension, but that differences remained over what conditions President Robert Mugabe's regime needs to fulfil before it is readmitted.

Zimbabwe, mired in deep political and economic woes and threatened with famine, was suspended from the Commonwealth in March last year after Mugabe was re-elected in a poll marred by violence and fraud.

Among the issues of particular interest to the Caribbean is the Commonwealth Programme for Small States. The Executive Session on Saturday morning had interventions from most Caribbean Heads calling for a continuation of the Commonwealth's agenda on keeping the small states interests at the forefront. 

The already fragile Caribbean economies must now be diverted to cover costs for the implementation of security measures to combat terrorism. The tourism industry is one of the Caribbean's greatest earners and the region must now comply with international standards if it is to continue to attract visitors.

India was already helping several countries through bilateral and multilateral channels and has concluded a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation with CARICOM countries. India has also set aside ten training opportunities for each of the small island states of the Caribbean.

African and Caribbean Heads of Government have also agreed to consider convening an African/Caribbean Summit. The regions share a common heritage and have regular meetings with other groupings, but not among themselves.

The Caribbean Heads of Government represented at the CHOGM are:

Barbados - P.M. Owen Arthur
Bahamas - P.M. Perry Christie
Belize - P.M. Said Musa
Dominica - Tourism Minister Charles Savarin 
Grenada - High Commissioner-Designate to Nigeria - Ruth Elizabeth Rouse 
Guyana - President Bharrat Jagdeo
Jamaica - P.M. P.J. Patterson
St Kitts -Nevis - P.M. Denzil Douglas
St. Lucia - P.M. Kenny Anthony
St. Vincent & The Grenadines - Foreign Minister Louis Straker 
Trinidad & Tobago - P.M. Patrick Manning 

The meeting concludes on Monday December 8th following the Communiqué and Final Press Conference.

Information for this report was drawn from sources including our own correspondent in Abuja and from AFP.

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