Primary Contact Points

Each member country has a single designated Primary Contact Point (PCP) nominated by the government.

In support of the Secretariat's ongoing efforts to improve the management, impact and co-ordination of Commonwealth development assistance, Commonwealth Heads of Government, at their meeting in Abuja (2003), requested governments to locate the CFTC PCP in a Ministry with responsibility for determining national development priorities. Ideally, the PCP would be an official who may also have responsibility for and/or knowledge of the co-ordination of national development aid programme.

The Office of Deputy Secretary-General responsible for the CFTC liaises with the PCP to gather and discuss information on national development needs, to provide information on its technical cooperation programme, and to discuss how the Secretariat can respond to specific technical assistance requirements and requests.

The Office of the Deputy Secretary-General responsible for the CFTC may seek information and advice from the PCP when assessing and coordinating requests. The PCP will be called upon to provide a strategic and national overview of priorities in order to ensure the development assistance provided by the Commonwealth Secretariat is aligned with national development priorities, and does not duplicate the work of other development partners.

The Secretariat will seek advice from the PCP in the development of the organisation's four-year Strategic and biennial Operational Plans through regional consultations.

The specific responsibilities of the PCP include:

Establish regular contact with all national POC across government ministries and with the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Maintain oversight of all correspondence between POC in various ministries/departments/institutions and the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Establish procedures for regular communication with all POC, particularly to co-ordinate information flows and decisions on requests for development assistance from the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Advise the Commonwealth Secretariat on national developmental priorities, particularly where such priorities may be relevant to decisions about competing requests for Secretariat assistance and in the development of the Secretariat's Strategic and Operational Plans.

Responsibilities of the Commonwealth Secretariat

The Commonwealth Secretariat will support the Primary Contact Points in the following ways:

Copy to the PCP the correspondence with POC on project requests;
Advise the PCP on matters of general interest relating to Commonwealth Secretariat development assistance programmes, including those areas in which the Commonwealth Secretariat has specific expertise and comparative advantages.
Facilitate consultations with PCP as part of the development of the Secretariat's Strategic and Operational Plans.

PCPs by Region (Secure Area)

*To request username and password details for the Secure Area contact: cftc@commonwealth.int

Primary Contact Points

Responsibilities of the Commonwealth Secretariat

Contact Information