RWANDA will play host to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) during the week of June 21, 2021 after this year’s gathering, which was to have been held in Kigali in June, was postponed because of the global disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Announcing the new date for the 26th CHOGM on Wednesday, Rwandan President Paul Kagame said: ‘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 our young people, and which are all the more pressing as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
‘Rwanda looks forward to welcoming all delegates and participants to Kigali next year for a safe and productive meeting.’
CHOGM is customarily held every two years and is the Commonwealth’s highest consultative and policy-making gathering.
Commonwealth leaders selected Rwanda as host for their next summit when they met in London in 2018.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said: ‘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.
‘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, t
he global economy, trade and sustainable development need to be dealt with decisively through multilateral cooperation and mutual support.’
The summit will be is preceded by meetings for representatives from Commonwealth networks for youth, women, civil society and business.
The Commonwealth is a voluntary association
of 54 independent countries, representing a third of the world’s population –2.4 billion people – with more than 60 per cent aged 29 or under
It includes both advanced economies and developing countries, of which 32 are small states, including many island nations.
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