The heads of the two global bodies representing much of the anglophone and francophone world met in London on 30 April to discuss ongoing collaboration between their organisations.
The heads of the two global bodies representing much of the anglophone and francophone world met in London on Wednesday to discuss ongoing collaboration between their organisations.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma received his International Organisation of La Francophonie counterpart, Secretary-General Abdou Diouf, at Marlborough House, London, headquarters of The Commonwealth, in what was a productive working visit. Both heads meet with one another annually.
The meeting follows the two organisations’ third annual development dialogue with the Group of Twenty (G20) in Washington DC in early April. In their discussions in London yesterday, Messrs Sharma and Diouf resolved to maintain the momentum gained in their collaborative work with the G20 to address the most pressing development needs of the smallest, poorest and vulnerable developing countries. The Commonwealth and the International Organisation of La Francophonie have been a strong voice for the interests of developing countries, using the G20 platform over the last three years.
A lot of the emphasis by the two organisations has been on seeing how poor countries can achieve growth with resilience. They continue to work on the role of the informal sectors in promoting growth, jobs and sustainable development. Equal emphasis has been on empowering young people and women in development, and on better opportunities for the world’s poorest countries in trade. And both organisations will remain assertive in their advocacy work on the post-2015 development agenda.
Mr Sharma spoke about the need for collaboration in innovative financing for development in the smallest and most underdeveloped countries. Mr Diouf emphasised that in pursuing the post-2015 development agenda, it was important not to lose sight of some aspects of the 2015 Millennium Development Goals that had still not been achieved, such as universal primary education.
The two chief executives covered a wide range of other issues of common interest, in their discussion, including their organisations’ promotion of democracy, good governance – an important purveyor of development – and human rights.
Mr Sharma seized the opportunity to brief his Francophonie counterpart on the imminent Commonwealth Law Ministers Meeting in Botswana next week, which he and Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba would be attending. The theme of the meeting is the rule of law and human rights, and is one of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s many fora that highlight the convergence of its work between democracy and development.
The Commonwealth and La Francophonie intend to maintain their advocacy for developing countries through sustained engagement with the current Chair of the G20, Australia, whose presidency of the group runs through November this year.
