The modern Commonwealth is an organisation which promotes democracy and freedom across the world, standing as a force for good within the global community. The traditional relationship between the United Kingdom and the various countries of the Commonwealth was one based on its undoubtedly significant historical ties and common values, yet the modern organisation has developed over time to embrace social and economic development across the globe.

Malta has been an active member of the Commonwealth since 1964, and is one of only three member countries in Europe – all of which are island states and members of the European Union. Malta has won four medals in the Commonwealth Games since 1958; the Malta-led Commonwealth Network of Information Technology for Development (COMNET-IT) has championed the development of the Commonwealth Action Programme for the Digital Divide; and it has hosted many Commonwealth meetings, including the high-profile Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in 2005 attended by the Queen and then British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Many of the countries in the Commonwealth are some of the world’s fastest developing economies, and the relationship has allowed the technologically advanced markets to spread throughout the globe to new countries. More than $3 billion dollars of global trade takes place every single year within the Commonwealth, and its combined GDP doubled from 1990 to 2000, and is forecast to grow by 15 per cent again by 2015.

Another advantage of the Commonwealth is the chance for smaller nations to have their views and opinions heard on an international stage more effectively than within the wider structure of the United Nations (UN). The less formal setting of the Commonwealth is an easier place to discuss issues which are significant but may not be considered as essential discussion by the UN.

Its achievements are often not widely broadcast, but it has worked extensively in helping to bring an end to the injustice of apartheid and aiding Sierra Leone to return to stability. It has brokered agreements between troubled neighbours in Africa, helped calm tensions during contested elections in fragile democracies, and advised small states in international negotiations and at the UN.

The special relationship between the UK and the various countries allows for the organisation as a whole to stand for and strive towards greater freedom and human rights for individual citizens and for nations as a whole. The British Foreign Secretary, William Hague, summed up the role and potential of the Commonwealth in a recent speech: “In a world in which democracy and human rights are under assault in many quarters, the Commonwealth stands against oppression, racism and religious intolerance, giving it the potential for real moral authority as an international organisation.”

With the ability to both benefit social freedoms and develop economic growth markets around the world the Commonwealth is a driving force for positive change. While the UN is sometimes criticised as an organisation which supports the interests of western governments, the Commonwealth stands out as a free association of equal members from all over the globe that promote global development and help to shape the world of tomorrow.

However, with over two billion people living within Commonwealth nations, it faces a challenge in developing the future of the globe. But its core values and exceptional results leave it in a very strong position to better itself and further its aims.

Commonwealth Day is being marked today.

Ms Stanton is British High Commissioner for Malta.