(Commonwealth) The Secretary-General delivered opening speeches at the Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting in Washington, where she was joined by the Annual IMF and World Bank Meetings. The Secretary-General deeply valued the trust placed in her by member governments and persisted in her promise to ensure that the Commonwealth continues to return clear dividends for all 2.7 billion citizens of the 56 member states.
She pointed out that the current festival comes at the time of record global economic slowdown. The global economy, she went on, is being faced with actual headwinds: lacklustre growth, increasing debt risks, reduced trade, and falling development finance. These are being supplemented by the worsening climate crisis, still making a claim for additional monetary resources on already strained economies. Such reversions pose a threat to most members of the Commonwealth, especially the least developed countries and small states, by erasing long-hailed gains and closing off future opportunities.
In the face of these seemingly insurmountable facts, the Secretary-General insisted that crises create opportunities too. She said the problem at the centre is the breakdown of the global rules-based system, which, before the recent global convulsions, was not offering sustainable growth to developing countries. For the Commonwealth, this crisis is a moment of opportunity to turn inward to draw upon its collective strength and to set a path that returns stability and prosperity to its members.
The Secretary-General emphasised that the Commonwealth’s shared history, values, and institutions are valuable resources. The Commonwealth, being a family extended across five continents and one-third of the globe, enjoys robust foundations of trust and cooperation. The members also have a so-called “Commonwealth Advantage” because intra-member trade is, on average, 21% less than with non-members. Intra-Commonwealth investment continues growing, and it is expected to hit two trillion dollars by the year 2030 through intra-bloc trade. She highlighted that it is an excellent example of strength and opportunity created out of unity and not keeping anyone out.
Through the Secretary-General’s vision lies the heart of economic transformation through greater trade, investment, and co-operation. She called for cooperation to bring small and vulnerable states to the centre from the periphery of economic life in the world. Through growing markets and increasing purchasing power, the Commonwealth can make its business thrive while the ordinary citizen can feel the tangible fruits of co-operation.
The subject of the meeting, “Strengthening Economic Resilience Amidst International Policy Shifts”, was described as being on target and relevant. The Secretary-General strongly maintained that resilience is not in nature; it needs to be built through collective reforms, innovation, and unity of will. She has witnessed Commonwealth citizens’ creativity in coming up with innovative finance solutions such as blue bonds for ocean conservation, catastrophe bonds for catastrophe risk resilience, and the Commonwealth Meridian system, which has improved debt management in 41 states.
As 2025 represents the fortieth anniversary of the Commonwealth Debt Management Programme, the Secretary-General said it is introducing the Commonwealth Year of Resilient, Innovative, and Sustainable Debt. This will serve to reiterate the commitment of the Commonwealth to sound financial management as well as to more equitable international funding.
But she insisted that more than individual efforts are required to build an actual inclusive global financial system. What is required is a structural shift of the global finance framework, one which understands vulnerability in terms wider than income and allows governments to invest in their people and in climate resilience without falling into unsustainable debt traps.
The Secretary-General was pleasantly assured that the Commonwealth is in the best position to spearhead this transformation. Through the union of the power of its advanced economies, its emerging market states, and its small island nations, the organisation can demonstrate a paradigm of resilience and common prosperity for the rest of the world to emulate.
She emphasised that bringing this about would involve enhancing the Commonwealth Secretariat itself. To raise money to fund its global focus, the Secretariat has established a Resource Mobilisation Directorate to raise money from non-traditional and traditional sources. The Secretary-General said she will travel to member and non-member states personally in a bid to raise more funds to increase such high-profile Commonwealth initiatives as digital education schemes to place over 10 million youth with digital skills.
In brief, she urged member states to step forward together and in harmony, adding that unity, shared values, and collective will are the impetus for transmuting today’s challenges into opportunities. Together, the Commonwealth can transform today’s economic headwinds into new drivers of growth and prosperity for all its citizens and nations.
