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Deputy Secretary-General meets Nigeria’s Deputy Foreign Minister

18 June 2008

Masire-Mwamba briefs minister on Commonwealth developments

Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba on 17 June 2008 met the Deputy Foreign Minister of Nigeria, Ambassador Bagudu Hirse, in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, where the two discussed issues of interest to the Commonwealth.

Mrs Masire-Mwamba, who was in Nigeria for a three-day workshop on ‘Government and Opposition’, briefed the minister on developments in the Commonwealth. She told him that the workshop, which had brought together participants from Cameroon, The Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, as well as Liberia, was focusing on the roles, rights and responsibilities of Government and Opposition.

The workshop, organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat in conjunction with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and ECOWAS, with support from the National Assembly of Nigeria, is taking place in Abuja from 16 to 18 June 2008.

“We have been very encouraged by the level of frankness and quality of discussions that have taken place between the two parties. It is extremely important for the Government and Opposition to build constructive partnerships for the good of democracy and development,” said Mrs Masire-Mwamba.

On his part, Ambassador Hirse commented that the “meeting couldn’t have come at a better time, especially for us in Nigeria which is steadily consolidating its democracy.”

The Deputy Secretary-General also briefed the minister on ongoing Commonwealth mandates, including the recently concluded mini-summit of Heads of Government, convened by Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma, on the reform of international institutions.

Ambassador Hirse congratulated Mrs Masire-Mwamba on her recent appointment as Deputy Secretary-General and said he looked forward to working closely together.

The minister stated that Nigeria values its membership of the Commonwealth and pledged the country’s continued support to the association’s programmes and mandates.

The Deputy Secretary-General was accompanied by the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Director of Political Affairs, Matthew Neuhaus, and the Head of Africa Section in the Political Affairs Division, Ayodele Oke.