CHOGM: Commonwealth heads of government meeting to hold June 2021

On Wednesday, the 23rd of September 2020, the President of Rwanda, President Paul Kagame and the Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Right Honourable Patricia Scotland; announced the new date for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).

The biennial summit which was to have taken place in Kigali in June 2020 was postponed due to the impact of COVID19. And the new date which was agreed amongst member countries will be the week of 21 June 2021.

The Commonwealth which is a voluntary association of fifty-four sovereign states has a combined population of 2.4 billion people, of which more than sixty percent is aged twenty-nine or under.

The Commonwealth which spans the globe and includes both advanced economies and developing countries has thirty-two members which are small states and many are island nations.

During the biennial CHOGM, leaders of the fifty-four nations gather for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. This intergovernmental meeting is always an opportunity for Heads of State to address shared and similar challenges and set new priorities.

Decisions are reached by consensus with statements reflecting the views of all those present.

In an official statement, President Paul Kagame stated that “CHOGM Rwanda 2021 will be an exceptional occasion to deliberate together on the enormous technological, ecological, and economic challenges and opportunities facing the Commonwealth, particularly the young people, and which are all the more pressing as a result of the Covid19 pandemic.

And also stated that Rwanda looks forward to welcoming all delegates and participants to Kigali in 2021 for a safe and productive meeting.”

Whilst the Secretary-General, Honourable Patricia Scotland stated that “at this historic CHOGM, the first to be held in Africa this millennium, we look forward to Commonwealth leaders coming together to take practical action on the critical issues we all face.

And our meetings in Rwanda will give us a real opportunity to focus on our post COVID recovery, but we also know that the pandemic has not reduced the urgency with which global challenges such as climate change, the global economy, trade and sustainable development need to be dealt with decisively through multilateral cooperation and mutual support.

In 2018, during the CHOGM in London, the Commonwealth leaders selected Rwanda as host for their next summit. The leaders summit, which is preceded by meetings for representatives from Commonwealth networks for youth, women, civil society and business, will be held in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.

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