Hugo Swire, former Minister of State at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, welcomes the economic advantages of being an active member of the Commonwealth and encourages us to seize the opportunities for trade and private sector growth.
Together, we belong to a unique network – the Commonwealth family. It has global reach and great diversity. But it also has vast, untapped potential. The Commonwealth is a powerful brand that many around the world are proud to be associated with. In Britain, alongside our ‘special relationship’ with America, or our membership of the European Union, we see enormous advantages in being an active member of the Commonwealth family – a unique organisation that has:
• One quarter of the world’s sovereign states
• 20 per cent of the world’s land mass
• One in three of the world’s population
• One permanent member of the UN Security Council; two members of the G7; three members of the European Union; and five members of the G20.
It is difficult to think of another organisation that brings together the representatives of 53 diverse, sovereign states from each and every continent and gives each one, large or small, an equal voice in global affairs…
*Statistics within article correct at original publication date of CHOGM 2015 Report.
Hugo Swire
Former Minister of State at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office
