A new body set up to help reform and renew the Commonwealth met for the first time this week.

The ten-member Eminent Persons Group is tasked with examining ways to ensure that the 60-year-old association “remains relevant in decades to come”, according to former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the Group Chairperson.

Tun Abdullah, speaking to Commonwealth News following the EPG’s inaugural two-day meeting in London, UK, on 19 and 20 July 2010, said he looked forward to leading a “renewal” of the Commonwealth’s work. “The Commonwealth has served us very well.  But we wouldn’t want to see it becoming old or irrelevant,” he said.

Established at the request of Commonwealth Heads of Government in Trinidad and Tobago in November 2009, Tun Abdullah revealed that the EPG’s discussions this week focused on strengthening the Commonwealth’s networking, its partnerships, and its ministerial meetings.

'Ideas and suggestions'

The EPG also discussed the Commonwealth’s public image, the ways in which it can remain fully engaged in global debates, and the challenges that affect its members, especially its small states and developing states.  These include climate change, food security, and international financial liquidity.

Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma said he hoped the EPG would be able to deliver a “big political signal” to Commonwealth leaders on the future direction of the 54-member association.

“The Group offers fresh, external thinking from those who reflect a lot on the Commonwealth.  The perspectives of people who believe in and want to empower this organisation are extremely important,” said Mr Sharma.

EPG members said they expected to draw on previous reviews and consultations, including last year’s Commonwealth Conversation survey conducted by the Royal Commonwealth Society.

One EPG member, former UK Foreign Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind, said that the Group’s review came at a “crucial moment” in the association’s history, adding that he and his colleagues would be looking for “specific changes, improvements, reforms or alterations” to recommend to leaders.

Dr Asma Jahangir of Pakistan added that the convening of the Group was an opportunity to ensure that the Commonwealth’s long held values of tolerance, democracy and human rights will “shine, rather than dim” in the future.

According to Tun Abdullah, the public and civil society organisations will be able to feed their thoughts and suggestions into their consultations in the months to come.

“All of us agreed that when we go back [to our home countries] we will get in touch with NGOs, with societies, and groups that are interested in the Commonwealth. We would like to listen to them and hear what they have to say. We would welcome anyone who is interested in making a contribution,” he said.

“We are going to have a lot of ideas and suggestions from many people, and this is good – it just shows that people care about the Commonwealth.”

Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma today welcomed European Development Commissioner, Andris Piebalgs, to the Commonwealth Secretariat on an historic occasion. This was the first visit by a Development Commissioner to Marlborough House, the Secretariat’s headquarters, though European Commission President José Manuel Barroso has met the Secretary-General both in London and in Brussels over the last few years.

The Commissioner endorsed the Secretary-General’s call for a deepening of the relationship between the two institutions. On a number of important policy areas there is common interest and both the European Union (EU) and the Commonwealth share the basic values of freedom and democracy.

The Commissioner expressed satisfaction at the role of the Secretariat in delivering trade related capacity-building in conjunction with the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, to all member states of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) grouping. He believes that a Phase II of this programme was within reach and that the two sides should meet again in September in Brussels to resolve outstanding issues.

On the Pacific, following the Secretary-General’s discussions at the Forum Heads of Government Meeting last year in Cairns, with former Development Director-General Stefano Manservisi, the Commissioner expressed the opinion that the EU and the Commonwealth could do more together to assist the island governments in the Pacific region. He looks forward to receiving proposals on this from the Secretariat.

On the joint EU/African Union (AU) Strategy for Africa, where the Secretariat is accepted at the political levels as an important contributor to the governance aspects, the Commissioner envisaged further discussion about deepening the relationship, both with the AU Commission in Addis Ababa and in individual Commonwealth African countries. It is anticipated that the discussions will move further forward as both the Commissioner and the Secretary-General will attend the forthcoming AU Summit in Kampala.

It was agreed that a regular meeting between the Commissioner and the Secretary-General would be a new feature of the relationship between the two organisations.