Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is due in Antigua and Barbuda Monday for a Commonwealth summit on trade and investment, topics with stakes for the bloc’s 2.7 billion people, alongside climate resilience and security.
The 28th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) runs Nov. 1-4 in St. John’s. Canada says Carney will attend from Nov. 2-4, marking his first CHOGM; the Commonwealth says its 56 member countries meet every two years. Thirty-three of the world’s 42 small states are members, the organization says, defining small states as having populations of 1.5 million or fewer.
Canada says Carney’s discussions will cover trade, investment, climate resilience and renewable energy, as well as geopolitical challenges and collective security. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand is also scheduled to attend. Global Affairs Canada also lists economic opportunity among the gathering’s expected topics. Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Botchwey urged action, saying, “We have 2.7 billion reasons to act.”
The Commonwealth Secretariat says 20 developing members have submitted investment-ready projects valued at 34 billion, without stating a currency. This year’s priorities include reducing trade barriers and developing a strategy to advance investment in 2027. The Secretariat presents the strategy as a priority for the agenda, not as an adopted plan. The trade goal dates to a 2018 commitment by Commonwealth leaders to raise trade among members to US$2 trillion by 2030.
King Charles III, head of the Commonwealth, is scheduled to attend the opening ceremony and a dinner with leaders. The Secretariat says he will address the opening Tuesday, Nov. 3. The published royal and summit schedules list both Charles and Carney at the gathering but do not list a separate bilateral meeting. EconoTimes has previously covered Charles’ expected summit address.
