Ugandan President, Maltese PM launch Business Forum

The President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, and the Prime Minister of Malta, Dr Lawrence Gonzi, on 4 June 2007 launched the Commonwealth Business Forum at a function also addressed by Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon.

The launch, which was organised by the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC), took place at Commonwealth Secretariat headquarters in London.

President Museveni stressed the role of the business community in creating wealth to enable millions of Commonwealth citizens trade their way out of poverty.

The President stated that English -- the shared language of the people in the Commonwealth -- is an asset that should be exploited to promote businesses, trade and investment within and among Commonwealth member countries.

“I know there are many ways to achieve transformation of our societies, but I believe that the Commonwealth way is the best way to move together. This is because the Commonwealth is multiracial, multi-ethnic, covers a wider radius of the world, is spread over many continents -- and yet we speak the same language and can understand one another without the need for a translator,” he said.

Mr Museveni noted that the business community is at the centre of ensuring that the theme of the November 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting -- Transforming Commonwealth Societies to achieve political, economic and human development -- is fulfilled.

Prime Minister Gonzi spoke about how the CBC is best placed to deliver on promises of increasing international trade and employment opportunities for people in the Commonwealth through the promotion of global partnerships and networking.

Dr Gonzi said the success of the 2007 Business Forum would be determined by innovation, creativity and foresight, as well as the willingness to take risk and embrace change and the courage to learn from failure.

Mr McKinnon stated that there is a need for the establishment of a democratic and favourable environment for the business community to have faith in the systems and hence invest in member countries.

“Today we talked about change and transformation. The Commonwealth Business Forum is how this can happen,” he said.

The Director-General of CBC, Dr Mohan Kaul, pointed out that the Council promotes public-private sector partnerships to minimise bureaucratic obstacles to business.

Secretariat Links:

• Come and take a look, Museveni tells investors

Related Websites:

• Commonwealth Business Council
• CHOGM 2007 Uganda