PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – The Commonwealth Secretary-General, Kamalesh Sharma will visit Trinidad and Tobago from May 5-9, 2009 to discuss the country’s hosting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting from November 27-29, 2009.
While in Trinidad and Tobago, H.E. Sharma will hold talks with Prime Minister Patrick Manning; Foreign Affairs Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon; Trade and Industry Minister Mariano Browne; Local Government Minister Hazel Manning; officials of the National Secretariat for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM); Speaker of the House of Representatives Barendra Sinanan and Opposition Leader Basdeo Panday.
Commonwealth Secretary-General
Kamalesh Sharma
H.E. Sharma will be accompanied by a team of officers from the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Political Affairs Division and the Communications and Public Affairs Division.
The Secretary-General is also expected to deliver the feature address at the Dr. Eric Williams Memorial Lecture on Friday May 8, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.
The Commonwealth Secretariat, established in 1965, is the main intergovernmental agency of the Commonwealth, facilitating consultation and co-operation among member governments and countries.
The CHOGM is the supreme body of the Commonwealth. It is convened every two years to review global, political and economic developments and to conduct a strategic overview of the Commonwealth’s work in support of the interests of member countries.
The theme of CHOGM 2009 is “Partnering for a More Equitable and Sustainable Future” and the objective of the Summit is to engage the 53 leaders of the Commonwealth in discussing global and Commonwealth issues and to agree upon collective policies and initiatives.
Similar to the recently concluded Fifth Summit of the Americas, there will be parallel events prior to the meeting of the 53 Commonwealth leaders. The parallel events are the Commonwealth Youth Forum from November 18-24; the Commonwealth People’s Forum from November 22-25 and the Commonwealth Business Forum from November 23-26, 2009.
