Commonwealth must leave no one behind, says Kagame
Published:Wednesday | June 22, 2022 | 12:14 AMAlice Kagina/Contributor
(New Times Rwanda for The Gleaner):
The Commonwealth should help deliver prosperity to all of its members, with no one left behind, President Paul Kagame said in Kigali on Tuesday.
He was speaking during a panel discussion on Day I of the Commonwealth Business Forum, one of the key events taking place ahead of the major sessions of the Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) this week.
“We need to keep making sure that when we talk about the Commonwealth, we actually mean the Commonwealth. Not just that being Common to a few of the many 54 countries,” the Rwandan leader told more than 1,000 delegates attending the two-day business gathering.
More than 5,000 delegates are in Kigali for the 26th CHOGM edition, with parallel events taking place at different venues across the capital, including youth, women’s, business, and civil-society forums. Street festivals and other social events are also under way.
Kagame, who is set to take over as the next chair-in-office for Commonwealth for the next two years, said the organisation needs to continuously engage with a view to imposing balance and inclusion.
“With the Commonwealth, we already have many things in common indeed. Be it the language, be it the different systems, financial systems, that would enable us to make investments, trade with each other all together,” he said.
Kagame added: “I think this is what we have to focus on. So that, even the small, developing nations feel they are not left behind, that we uplift everyone, we move towards what fulfils the obligation to the Commonwealth that we aspire to in this family of nations.”
The Rwandan president also said that the pace of trade, commerce, and health investments should be “increased so that we give more value to the Commonwealth and the feelings of the people of the Commonwealth”.
The Commonwealth Business Forum attracted government officials, investors, bankers, venture capitalists and business executives, among others.
Other participants include champions of youth entrepreneurship from across the member states.
Delegates are exploring a wide range of issues, including financing future growth, trade and regional integration, and the future of work.
Akinwumi Adesina, president of the African Development Bank, said that while the economy of the Commonwealth is projected to grow to US$13 trillion by 2026, it is largely concentrated in five countries: the UK, Canada, Australia, Nigeria, and India.
He said a common future for Commonwealth nations must be about the future of the youth, adding that youth entrepreneurship investments are critical.
President Kagame also said the youth need to be given space in decision-making at all levels. “We should also be integrating, not just the young people but all of us. We have to make sure that we look at society as a complete thing and allow different players to do their part.”
At least 60 per cent of the Commonwealth population is 29 or younger.
Amali de Alwis, chief executive of Subak, a global non-profit tech accelerator dedicated to mitigating the climate crisis, underlined the need for the youth to be empowered with relevant skills.
“We will train them to have the skills they need to be fit for the future. If we don’t do that, we are doing them a disservice,” de Alwis said.
This is the first CHOGM in four years, with the United Kingdom having hosted the last edition in 2018.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is set to lead a high-powered UK government delegation to Kigali, is the outgoing chair-in-office of the Commonwealth of Nations, which boasts 2.5 billion people.
Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, who was due to arrive in Kigali on Tuesday evening ahead of the main CHOGM session on Friday, is the designated next leader of the Commonwealth.