For the second time in a span of 10 years, Malta will be hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in November. For many, the Commonwealth is an inheritance of Britain’s imperial past, grouping together most of the countries that at one point or another were part of the British empire.
A number of heads of government of such countries probably dislike the Queen intensely and consider her and the British government as some political enemy. One also wonders about the state of political relations between the UK and such countries.
So it does not come as a surprise if we may feel that CHOGM serves as nothing more than a debating society and an opportunity for delegates to have a break. What I am expressing is obviously my uneducated guess of what I feel the citizens of the countries, members of the Commonwealth, believe. In Malta, for various reasons, membership of the EU satisfies our desire to form part of a large multi-country organisation.
However, such an approach does not do justice to the Commonwealth and CHOGM. Excluding from the picture the United Nations and its related organisations (such as Unesco), the Commonwealth, as a multi-country organisation, is unique in one very important respect.
Maybe our country should take a leading role in pushing the economic agenda within the Commonwealth at the next heads of government meeting
It is not tied to a specific region in the globe, such as the EU, which is tied to the European continent, or ASEAN which is an association of South East Asian nations, or the OAU, which is the organisation of African unity.
Most members of the Commonwealth are members of a regional organisation. On the other hand, the Commonwealth is truly a global organisation. The total land area of its member states covers almost a quarter of the world land area. In 2014, the member states of the Commonwealth produced 17 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product when measured in purchasing power parity. And this is where its economic advantages lie, even if they are not being fully exploited.
The name itself, which includes the word ‘wealth’, implies that the organisation should have as its core objective economic cooperation. In fact, it is very likely that the political interests of the member states of the Commonwealth do not converge; however, the economic interests can be made to converge.
For example, the Commonwealth does not have a free trade agreement. Yet three of its members (UK, Cyprus and Malta) form part of the EU which is a free trade area. Moreover, the EU negotiates free trade agreements with members of the Commonwealth, such as South Africa, Canada and India. Can the Commonwealth take a more proactive approach with the EU to seek a free trade agreement with more countries?
Research also shows that for a number of countries, trade with another Commonwealth member is on average about 50 per cent more than with a non-Commonwealth member. The poorer countries are more likely to trade with other Commonwealth members.
In the late 1990s, the Commonwealth Business Council was set up to promote global trade and prosperity. Can the Commonwealth take a more proactive approach to promote greater economic cooperation among its members?
I do agree that Malta should not lose its European vocation and membership of the Commonwealth should not be viewed as an alternative of EU membership as some British Eurosceptics seem to think about their own country.
Yet The Commonwealth does present an opportunity to seek further economic growth for our country.
Maybe our country should take a leading role in pushing the economic agenda within the Commonwealth at the next heads of government meeting. After all, the name of this organisation places the economic agenda on the forefront.