Commonwealth MPs came together in London at an inaugural forum ahead of UK-hosted Heads of Government Meeting in April 2018. Over 80 Parliamentarians from 25 Commonwealth countries attended the first Commonwealth Parliamentarians’ Forum in London (26 February – 1 March). The April event will be attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
High-profile speakers included: UK Foreign Secretary, the Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP, Leader of the UK Labour Party, the Rt Hon. Jeremy Corbyn MP, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ms Amina Mohammed, Minister of State for the Commonwealth, Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon , Minister of State for International Development, the Rt Hon. the Lord Bates, Shadow Secretary of State for International Development, Kate Osamor MP and Rt Hon. the Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alderman Charles Bowman
The Forum took place to ensure Commonwealth Parliaments feed into the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) and Parliamentarians returned to their countries better placed to inform and influence their governments ahead of CHOGM, and thereafter.
Chair of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK (CPA UK), James Duddridge MP, said: “The Commonwealth Parliamentarians’ Forum is a great opportunity for Commonwealth parliamentarians as they will be able to engage and feed into a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in a way they haven’t before.
“We look forward to welcoming parliamentarians to Westminster, and to a really engaging programme. I know we will have many valuable and productive discussions.”
This year, the Commonwealth’s theme 'Towards a Common Future' - will explore how the Commonwealth can address global challenges focussing on four sub-themes: sustainability, fairness, security, and prosperity. The bi-annual CHOGM is hosted by a different Commonwealth country each time and the host country takes on a 2 year Chair-in-Office role which the UK will hold from 2018-2020. 2018 will also see the Commonwealth Games take place in the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia in April. The next Games will take place in Birmingham, UK in 2022.
Commonwealth Day will take place on 12 March 2018 to celebrate the diversity, unity and values of the Commonwealth.
