New Zealand (Commonwealth) _ Lord Swire, the Deputy Chairman of CWEIC, has offered perceptive analysis regarding the importance of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) for New Zealand.
This opinion post by Lord Swire discusses how New Zealand‘s Prime Minister Christopher Luxon can represent the Pacific region at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa next month.
This meeting, the first Pacific Commonwealth summit since 2011, offers New Zealand a special chance to promote a development strategy driven by the market and progress important regional issues. In conjunction with the Commonwealth Business Forum, which is being organized by the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council, this conference provides an unmatched opportunity to involve the private sector in promoting trade, investment, and development throughout the Asia-Pacific.
The conversation around international relations has far too frequently in recent years centered on large, existential geopolitical issues, such as trade disputes with no end in sight, strong military campaigns, and great power conflicts.
It is easy to become distracted by the headlines and forget about the intricate network of relationships that underpin international relations between individuals, the commercial sector, and civil society. These varied networks are what support the development and expansion of global ties in the modern era.
Now enter the Commonwealth, one of the world’s leading proponents of decentralized diplomacy and a voluntary union of 56 sovereign and equal states. The Commonwealth is emerging as one of the world’s leading platforms for bottom-up diplomacy at a time of profound global change.
Few other organizations can connect heads of state, businesses, and civil society organizations from all over the world, connecting states as diverse and dissimilar as Zambia, Jamaica, Singapore and India.
The biannual Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which will be held in Samoa this year, is undoubtedly the highlight of the Commonwealth calendar. The Commonwealth will convene in the Pacific for the first time since 2011 in 2024, a period when the region’s concerns are top of the global agenda.
Additionally, the Commonwealth is going through a period of upheaval as well. King Charles III is the new Head of the Commonwealth, and new members have joined from a variety of countries, including Nigeria, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
The eight-year tenure of Baroness Patricia Scotland as Commonwealth Secretary-General comes to an end on this day, therefore choosing a new secretary-general will undoubtedly take center stage.
By furthering the region’s interests in a few crucial areas, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon may use this year’s summit to show regional leadership and strengthen New Zealand’s already strong, built on trust connections with its Pacific neighbors.
After coalition talks kept Luxon away from the Pacific Islands Forum last year, Luxon can seize this chance to meet with nearly all of New Zealand’s important Pacific allies in one location, showcasing the nation’s exceptional capacity to represent the area on the international scene.
But Luxon should not limit his involvement with the Pacific and its agenda to high-level discussions with other heads of state. An unmatched chance to interact with the Commonwealth business community directly is provided by the Commonwealth Business Forum, which is organized by the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council in collaboration with the Samoan government.
These corporate executives represent a huge chance to further the Prime Minister’s more comprehensive international goals as they are the ones promoting trade, investment, and development in the Pacific and beyond.
While states like Tonga and Papua New Guinea will certainly prioritize climate change and development, Luxon can also make sure that any future secretary general understands the role that the private sector plays in advancing development.
Then there are some of the more important topics that will be discussed at the event, such financing access, which is a crucial issue in the Pacific region.
The international private sector can help fund bankable projects in the Pacific, even though the Commonwealth already offers climate funding for climate-resilient infrastructure through its Commonwealth Climate funding Access Hub. A reliable global presence like New Zealand might be crucial in bringing interested parties together to create a fresh, creative market-led strategy for the region’s financial access.
