January 1971: Establishment of CFTC approved

Occurring ‘at a cheerful session on the last day of the Singapore HGM in January 1971’ the terms for the establishment of the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation were agreed.

Technical assistance programmes had been in operation at the Secretariat since 1967, however this agreement put the financing and delivery onto a more multilateral footing.

Its aim was to enhance manpower resources and technical knowledge in member countries at a low or minimal cost to those countries. Arnold Smith recognised that the areas of commonality between members was a huge advantage when it came to sharing expertise and planning co-operation and he saw it as the way in which the Commonwealth could build sinew.

Smith clearly saw the work of the CFTC as producing some of the Secretariats greatest practical achievements; stating ‘it is the part of the Secretariat’s work of which we can perhaps be most proud’ adding that he has personally found it ‘the most consistently satisfying part of the job’. [1]

The records detailing the work of the CFTC can be found in the Commonwealth Secretariats Library and Archives.

[1] Smith, A with Sanger, C, Stitches in Time: the Commonwealth in World Politics, London: Andre Deutsch, 1981.