Glover urges creation of prosperous Commonwealth
There is need to create a Commonwealth of prosperity, not just through development assistance but also through wider access to world markets, sharing more trade information, more contact between governments, officials, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and others, more debt reduction and greater use of the internet. So said British High Commissioner, Edward Glover in his Commonwealth Day message. Commonwealth Day was observed on Monday under the theme the 'Communications Challenge'. And according to Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth 11 in her message the challenge for the century just started will be to find ways to use ever faster communications to bring greater harmony and understanding both within each society and between them, and thereby to strengthen the Commonwealth. The High Commissioner said it was necessary to have more sustainable development and this meant more work on the environment, a stronger voice for small states and keeping climate change at the top of the agenda. He said that the Iwokrama rainforest project with its Commonwealth label would play an essential role in this process of environmental and climate awakening. According to Glover the Commonwealth also has to take security seriously: to intensify the fight against organised crime, drug dealing and money laundering; and to work harder to be a focus of action in support of democracy, human rights and good government, where the watchwords must be transparency and accountability. He said that the values of democracy, human rights and good government would matter most in the new global order and according to him these were the values which were most important to the individual. The High Commissioner also spoke about the visit made to London by 15-year-old Hemendebi Singh of Rosignol Secondary School who won last year's British High Commission Commonwealth Essay prize. He said that the young Guyanese represented her country at the celebration of Commonwealth Day in London's Westminster Abbey in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen, to whom she was introduced also to The Prince of Wales by the British High Commissioner. Singh made the visit to London as a guest of the English government.
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