14th Summit of COMESA Heads of State and Government

Your Majesty King Mswati 111, Head of State and Government of the Kingdom of Swaziland

Heads of State and Government of COMESA member states

Chairman of the African Union Commission

Heads of International and Regional Organisations

Members of the Diplomatic Corps

Excellencies

Distinguished delegates

Ladies and Gentlemen

I am honoured this morning to be granted this opportunity to make a statement on behalf of the Commonwealth Secretariat. I would like to start by congratulating His Majesty King Mswati 111, and the Government and people of Swaziland, for hosting this important summit. The arrangements have been excellent and the hospitality extended, warm and generous. It is a pleasure to be here in Southern Africa where one of the most dynamic initiatives in regional integration is unfolding. We congratulate the Secretary General of COMESA and his team for their work in promoting regional integration, especially through trade development but also in regard to peace and security initiatives.

The establishment of the Free Trade Area and launch of the Customs Union are notable achievements, as are the several institutional mechanisms established over the years to underpin regional integration. We are well aware that the road to successful regional integration, here as elsewhere in the developing world, has many obstacles. We commend COMESA and member states on the initiatives being taken to meet the many challenges they face and urge renewed effort.

Your Majesty and Excellencies, of the nineteen COMESA member states, almost half are members of the Commonwealth. Collaboration between the Commonwealth Secretariat and COMESA is, therefore, not a choice; it is an imperative.

We are pleased that the Commonwealth Secretariat is particularly active in providing support to member states in the COMESA region. This takes place across a wide range of areas such as trade, debt management, enterprise competitiveness, strengthening democratic processes, public sector development and institutional building relating to governance, human rights and rule of law.

Through our Hubs and Spokes project, with the support of the European Union, and in cooperation with la Francophonie, we have been engaged in strengthening trade policy capacity at the national and regional levels, working closely with Governments and regional integration organisations such as COMESA.

As a trusted partner, we have continued to assist governments in strengthening oversight and regulatory institutions that are important to political and economic governance. In several COMESA members we have provided assistance recently in regard to judicial administration and reform and in legislative drafting. A noteworthy development is the recent establishment of a Commonwealth Network of Electoral Management Bodies.

Your Majesty and Excellencies, the theme of “harnessing science and technology for development” is more critical now than ever before, given that this is an era that demands global competitiveness. The global community, and especially developing countries, is faced with multiple challenges relating to climate change, to food security, to energy security and to recurring health pandemics. Furthermore, progress is lagging on the MDGs, especially in areas of human development essential to Africa’s well being and growth. Science and Technology offers a potential solution; at the very least it will be an important contributing factor to any success we may achieve in addressing these problems.

At the Commonwealth we fully recognise this and thus the Commonwealth Day theme for 2010 is appropriately “Science, Technology and Society”. We are also implementing an important initiative the Commonwealth Partnership Platform Portal (CP3), which will utilise information and communication technology to facilitate information sharing and networking among Commonwealth member states and the various stakeholders and constituencies that make up the Commonwealth family.

COMESA and other developing countries need to invest heavily in scientific research and technological development and we are pleased that this is being increasingly realised and acted on. This will enable Africa to benefit more from its resources, both natural and human. As is well known, innovation creates new opportunities, particularly by adding value to goods and services, and ensures improved performance through increased capacity and enhanced productivity and efficiency. Some years ago, for example, the World Bank estimated that without the scientific advances of the past fifty years, an additional land area, the size of Europe, would be needed to produce the world’s current Agriculture output.

We believe that it is particularly important to note that technological progress is not only linked to growth but also to a decreasing incidence of poverty. This outcome will only be assured, however, if there is appropriate attention to education and training, and to the diffusion of skills throughout the economy so as to ensure inclusive growth.

Your Majesty and Excellencies, we are fortunate to have several examples in the Commonwealth of developing member states that have undertaken sustained investment in human resource development and in science and technology with commendable results. While there is no single formula and circumstances will differ, the success of these countries augur well for Africa and for developing countries in general, as they seek to raise living standards and attain the MDGs.

Your Majesty and Excellencies, the Commonwealth Secretariat affirms its commitment to assisting member states through technical assistance, capacity building, advisory services and advocacy. We pledge to continue to work with regional organisations such as the African Union, COMESA, SADC, ECOWAS and with development partners to promote and facilitate the social and economic transformation that we all seek.

I thank you for your attention