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Commonwealth Secretariat press release

Commonwealth Secretary-General in New York

26 September 2007

Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon arrives in New York today for the UN General Assembly

He will attend the Commonwealth Foreign Ministers Meeting on 28 September 2007. The meeting will be chaired by Dr Michael Frendo, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malta, which currently holds the Commonwealth Chairmanship.

Foreign Minister Sam Kutesa of Uganda will brief the meeting on preparations for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kampala, Uganda, from 23-25 November 2007.

Foreign Ministers will consider some of the key issues on the CHOGM agenda. These include work to bridge the digital divide, efforts to energise the WTO Doha Round, support for an international consensus on climate change and the concerns of small states, which are a particular focus for the Commonwealth.

The Ministerial Committee on Belize and the Ministerial Group on Guyana will also be briefed on progress on the respective border issues.

The Secretary-General will update Ministers on his ‘Good Offices’ role – the behind-the-scenes work undertaken in Commonwealth member countries on conflict resolution and prevention, and democracy building.

The Commonwealth and United Nations are enhancing their cooperation in peace building. Consequently, Mr McKinnon will also meet with Caroline McAskie, Assistant Secretary-General for the UN’s Peacebuilding Support Office. Their discussions will centre on peacebuilding in Sierra Leone where the Commonwealth recently observed the national elections. Sierra Leone is a key focus of the newly established UN Peacebuilding Commission.

For media enquiries, please contact Victoria Holdsworth on +44 7894-593-520 or v.holdsworth@commonwealth.int

Note to Editors:

The Ministerial Committee on Belize was constituted by Commonwealth Heads of Government at their meeting in London in 1977. Since then, Heads of Government have regularly reiterated their full support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Belize. The Committee's members are Barbados (chair), Canada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Malaysia, Nigeria and Tanzania.

The Ministerial Group on Guyana was established by the Commonwealth Secretary-General in accordance with the mandate given by the Commonwealth Heads of Government at their meeting in Durban in November 1999, where they 'expressed firm support for and solidarity with the Government and people of Guyana in the maintenance of their territorial integrity and sovereignty'. The Group's members are South Africa (chair), Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Canada, Guyana, Jamaica and the United Kingdom.

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