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Commonwealth Secretariat press release

Commonwealth Secretary-General briefs UK Foreign Affairs Committee

6 February 2003

Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon today met with members of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The meeting took place at Marlborough House, the headquarters of the Commonwealth Secretariat in London.

Welcoming the Committee, the Secretary-General recalled the 1996 report of the Foreign Affairs Committee on the Future Role of the Commonwealth as a seminal document. "This report welcomed the Commonwealth's work and its central and explicit conclusion was that 'the Commonwealth is acquiring a new significance in a rapidly transforming world and that United Kingdom policy makers should bring this major change to the forefront of their thinking.' This meeting gives me an opportunity to update you on our challenges and achievements."

Members of the Committee, led by its chairman the Rt. Hon Donald Anderson MP, were briefed on a wide range of current issues by the Secretary-General and his senior staff, including the work of the Commonwealth Secretariat in promoting democracy and good governance, the Secretary-General's good offices, election observer missions and the work of the Commonwealth Committee on Terrorism, established in November 2001.

Mr McKinnon also briefed the Committee on Commonwealth technical assistance programmes in the areas of trade, debt management and on the Commonwealth Youth Programme.

Note to Editors:
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the United Kingdom House of Commons carried out an inquiry into the Future Role of the Commonwealth in 1995-1996. Its report was published on 27 March 1996.
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Commonwealth Secretariat Marlborough House Pall Mall London SW1Y 5HX United Kingdom
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