The Foreign Secretary and British High Commissions across the
world will mark Commonwealth Day today as leaders gather in
London for the annual commemorative service at Westminster Abbey,
attended by Her Majesty The Queen.
The new British High Commission in Samoa will hold the UK’s
earliest and easternmost Commonwealth Day celebration, while a
workshop for female fashion entrepreneurs will take place in
Sierra Leone, and a youth Commonwealth Heads of Government
Meeting will be held in India, with university students having
their say on climate change.
Foreign Secretary said:
As an institution uniting 2.4 billion people across 54 countries,
the Commonwealth is unique in the diversity of its partnerships,
spanning six continents and making up a fifth of all global
trade.
We are tackling some of the largest global challenges through the
Commonwealth, from combatting climate change to preventing
cyber-crime, and creating a brighter future for the next
generation.
As the current Chair-in-Office, the UK is at the heart of the
organisation, which spans across six continents, represents a
third of the World Trade Organisation, and a quarter of the G20.
World leaders agreed at CHOGM 2018, which was held in London, to
be a global force for good in tackling the major challenges of
this century - from reducing plastics in the ocean, and ensuring
12 years of quality education for all children, to increasing
trade within the Commonwealth.
Following that agreement, 31 member states have joined the UK and
Vanuatu-led Commonwealth Clean Oceans Alliance, more than 8
million people will have been reached by antibiotic distribution
by CHOGM 2020, and we are on track to increase trade between
Commonwealth nations to more than £1.5 trillion by 2030.
