Secretary-General inaugurates Geneva Small States Office

The Commonwealth Small States Office in Geneva was officially inaugurated by the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Kamalesh Sharma, at a reception last night, attended by ministers, high commissioners, ambassadors and senior United Nations representatives.

Welcoming guests, Mr Sharma said that opening the Geneva office in January this year had been a “proud personal achievement” and that he was delighted to be able to follow through on mandates from Heads of Government summits in Kampala in 2007 and Port of Spain in 2009.

“The Commonwealth gives small states a voice, profile and access, and the Geneva office gives practical, concrete and visible expression to that work,” he said.

Deputy Secretary-General Ransford Smith, who oversees the Commonwealth’s Small States programme, reiterated the Commonwealth’s commitment to helping small and vulnerable states meet the challenges and opportunities of globalisation and to build economic resilience, as well as benefiting from international trade and regional co-operation.

Guests included The Bahamas Minister of Health, Dr Hubert Minnis, Maldives Minister of Health and Family Dr Aminath Jameel, and New Zealand Minister of Health Tony Ryall. The Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and Patricia Francis, Executive Director of the International Trade Centre and member of the Commonwealth Eminent Persons Group, were also in attendance.

The Small States Office provides a base for delegations visiting Geneva and enables them to establish a diplomatic presence in the region for bilateral accreditation in Europe and to the many multilateral organisations in the city, including the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Health Organization, the UN Human Rights Council, and the International Labour Organization.  The Geneva office is located within walking distance of the UN and the WTO.

Mr Sharma said he was looking forward to providing access to the services of resident technical experts on trade and human rights later this year.

Maldives, Solomon Islands and the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat have already taken space at the office. They will soon be joined by The Bahamas, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Tonga and Vanuatu.

Mr Sharma thanked the Governments of Australia, India and Singapore for their generous support as well as the Government of Switzerland, for its financial contribution to the costs of setting up the office.