Produced in partnership with the Royal Commonwealth Society, the CHOGM 2018 Report was distributed to the attendees of the four days of events which took place in London.
The 2018 CHOGM brought together leaders from Commonwealth countries to reaffirm common values and address shared global challenges.
The theme for the Meeting was ‘Towards a Common Future’ and focused on building on the strengths of the Commonwealth to ensure the unique organisation helps member states deliver a more prosperous, secure, sustainable and fair future for all citizens, particularly young people.
Featuring perspectives from:
- HRH The Prince of Wales
- His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, Brunei Darussalam
- Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Prime Minister, Pakistan
- Dr Akinwumi Adesina, President, African Development Bank
- Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, President, Republic of Ghana
- Roberto Azevêdo, Director-General, World Trade Organization
- Audrey Azoulay, Director-General, UNESCO
- Frank Bainimarama, Prime Minister of Fiji and President of COP23
- Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General, World Health Organization
- Julia Gillard, Global Partnership for Education, and former Prime Minister of Australia
- Dr Timothy S Harris, Prime Minister, Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis
- David Howell (Lord Howell of Guildford), President, The Royal Commonwealth Society
- Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, Prime Minister, Republic of Mauritius
- Michael Lake CBE, Director, The Royal Commonwealth Society
- Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister, Singapore
- Edgar Chagwa Lungu, President, Republic of Zambia
- Theresa May, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- Dr Hubert A Minnis, Prime Minister, Commonwealth of The Bahamas
- Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Under Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women
- Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations
- Albert Muchanga, Commissioner for Trade and Industry, African Union
- Dr Joseph Muscat, Prime Minister of Malta
- Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President, The Republic of Uganda
- Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak, Prime Minister, Malaysia
- Dr Keith Rowley, Prime Minister, The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
- Maithripala Sirisena, President, Sri Lanka
- Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister, Commonwealth of Dominica
- Freundel Jerome Stuart, Prime Minister, Barbados
- Shola Taylor, Secretary General, Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation
- Houlin Zhao, Secretary-General, International Telecommunication Union
ABOUT CHOGM 2018
The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018, also known as CHOGM 2018, was the 25th meeting of the heads of government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in the United Kingdom. The meeting had been planned to have been held by Vanuatu at the end of 2017, but was moved to the United Kingdom after the impact of Cyclone Pam on the infrastructure of Vanuatu. The meeting was then postponed to April 2018 due to other international commitments.
The position of Commonwealth Chair-in-Office, held by the government leader of the CHOGM host country, was 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.
AGENDA
The theme of the summit was “Towards a Common Future”. The British hosts set out four main goals for the summit:
- prosperity: boosting intra-Commonwealth trade and investment
- security: increasing cooperation across security challenges including global terrorism, organised crime and cyber attacks
- fairness: promoting democracy, fundamental freedoms and good governance across the Commonwealth
- sustainability: building the resilience of small and vulnerable states to deal with the effects of climate change and other global crises
Under consideration were: A Commonwealth Blue Charter on ocean governance, a Commonwealth connectivity agenda for trade and investment, a declaration on cybercrime, and revised Commonwealth guidelines on election observation in member countries.
TRADE
This was 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 economic ties with and play a greater role in the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth, as of 2018, was responsible for one-tenth of British trade compare to the EU with which the UK currently conducts half of its trade. Intra-Commonwealth trade, overall, is expected to increase by at least 17% to around US$700 billion by 2020.