HIGHLY ANTICIPATED COMMONWEALTH LEADERS MEET IN ROWANDA

COMMONWEALTH LEADERS MEET IN ROWANDA

June 20, 2022 | Colin O. Jarrett | Several leaders including Commonwealth Leaders from 54 countries are now gathered in Kigali, Rwanda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting; the 6th time the event has been hosted by an African country.

The week-long summit is expected to attract over 5,000 participants from government, business and civil society under the theme “Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming”.

The meetings, which began June 19 will focus on four areas covering youth, women, business and civil society, culminating with the official Retreat for leaders on June 25.

High on the agenda is the decision on who will be the next Secretary-General. The incumbent Baroness Patricia Scotland is expected to be challenged by two other candidates, that of Jamaica’s Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister Senator Kamina Johnson-Smith and Sir Lakoba Italeli of Tuvalu.

Baroness Scotland faces strong opposition from Johnson-Smith who has already been endorsed by two influential members of the bloc, that of UK and India.

The UK, the current chair of the Commonwealth, is reported to have led a campaign to oust Baroness Scotland, insisting that a change of leadership is required at the Secretariat as a result of flouting of procurement procedures and awarding a big contract to her close friend.

What is the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting?#Commonwealth leaders will meet at #CHOGM2022 in Rwanda to reaffirm their common values and agree on policies and actions to improve the lives of all 2.5 billion citizens.

Learn more in our one-minute explainer 👇

— The Commonwealth (@commonwealthsec) June 11, 2022