Secretary-General meets with President Museveni

Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma held talks in New York on Tuesday night (23 September 2008) with Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni and Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa in preparation for Wednesday’s special Commonwealth Summit at the United Nations.

More than 30 Commonwealth leaders and ministers are expected to attend an extraordinary Heads of Government meeting - the first such meeting to take place in New York. It will be presided over by Mr Museveni, the Commonwealth Chair-in-Office.

The special meeting was convened to discuss progress in Commonwealth countries towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which include reducing poverty by 2015, and the Commonwealth’s perspective on how global efforts on the MDGs can be accelerated and improved. The meeting will also cover the reform of international institutions and the current global debate on food security.

“The MDGs are an index of basic human dignity,” the Secretary-General said on Tuesday. “Commonwealth countries are among the most challenged. Of its 1.8 billion citizens, 750 million live on less than a dollar a day.”

The Commonwealth’s core assertion is that development and democracy must go hand in hand if the MDGs are to be met and have a lasting impact. The association’s strong relationship with Africa and commitment to youth and gender issues, place it in a strong position to do so.

The meeting is also an opportunity for Commonwealth members to agree a shared position to take into the UN High Level Meeting on the MDGs on Thursday, 25 September. World leaders are gathering at the UN this week for the 63rd General Assembly.

“The Commonwealth represents a quarter of UN membership and a third of the world’s population. If Commonwealth countries can agree, then the UN discussion on Thursday will be better informed and the result more meaningful,” said Mr Sharma.

Earlier, the Secretary-General described Wednesday’s Heads’ meeting as a “bold initiative on the part of the Commonwealth” to add practical value in addressing issues at the top of the global agenda.

“The Commonwealth starts from the democratic principle that people in all countries ought to have a say in how they are governed. Likewise, all countries must have a say in how international institutions are set up to govern global issues,” he said.

The Commonwealth’s contribution will be aimed at bringing all voices on reform to the table. Because of its economic and regional diversity, it represents a microcosm of the world: “When the Commonwealth reaches political agreement on a pressing global concern, it can be a signal to the world on a way forward,” Mr Sharma concluded.

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