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Commonwealth Secretariat press release

Commonwealth Secretary-General to visit Singapore

24 August 2005

Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon will visit Singapore from 25 to 26 August 2005 where he will call on Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

While in Singapore, the Secretary-General will also hold meetings with Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo, and Minister for Trade and Industry Lim Hng Kiang.

Discussions will focus on the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Malta from 25 to 27 November 2005. The event is held biennially and the Secretary-General will brief Prime Minister Lee on the priority issues on the agenda, under the CHOGM theme 'Networking the Commonwealth for Development'.

In the lead-up to CHOGM, the Secretary-General has convened a Co-ordinating Committee on the Commonwealth Action Programme for the Digital Divide (CAPDD). The CAPDD proposes strategies for Commonwealth countries to use information and communication technology (ICT) for development and to bridge the digital divide. These efforts are geared to helping Commonwealth states towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The CAPDD recommendations are to be considered by Commonwealth leaders in Malta as part of their discussions.

The Secretary-General said: "Singapore has achieved very impressive progress in ICT and it can contribute greatly to the Commonwealth through its knowledge and technological advances in this field. The Singapore ONE network linking up the entire country through ICT is a clear example of leadership and innovation in this age of globalisation. The Commonwealth can tap Singapore's networking capabilities to enhance the capacities of our member states to get wired for development, and to link up with the rest of the world through communications and e-commerce."

Trade is another issue on the CHOGM agenda which the Secretary-General will discuss during his visit to Singapore.

"Singapore is a major regional and international trading hub. Developments in the talks at the World Trade Organisation will have significant long-term impacts for Singapore in particular. The Commonwealth is playing its part to encourage progress in the WTO's Doha Round of negotiations by providing technical assistance to support the negotiators and by working to generate the required political momentum. Much more work is required if the next WTO Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong in December is to be a success and Commonwealth leaders need to work on collective approaches to help achieve that goal," said Mr McKinnon.

Commonwealth Foreign Ministers are due to meet in New York in September 2005 as well on the eve of the CHOGM. The Secretary-General will also brief the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister on the wider range of issues on the Commonwealth's agenda, including the organisation's responses to global challenges such as terrorism, debt relief, poverty alleviation, the promotion of democracy and good governance.
 

Note to Editors: 

From Singapore, the Secretary-General will head for the South Pacific to call on the leaders of several Commonwealth member states. He will visit Fiji Islands from 28-29 August and again from 5 to 8 September. Mr McKinnon is also scheduled to visit Tonga (30 - 31 August), Samoa (31 August-1 September) and New Zealand (2-5 September and 8-11 September).

For further details contact Mwambu Wanendeya, who will be travelling with the Secretary-General, on + 44 7730 90 0020.

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