The Commonwealth finalised a new Connectivity Agenda aimed at supporting global growth, job creation, the sharing of best practices and learning and sustainable development among its 53 member countries at a meeting in London.
Work under the Agenda is to be carried out through country-led thematic working groups, or clusters, with Bangladesh ear-marked for a business-to-business connectivity. The idea is for businesses in Bangladesh to be able to connect directly with others around the world to explore synergies for trade.
“The Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda will help businesses, including micro, small and medium sized enterprises, to plug into global trade networks and benefit from world trade. In this way, intra-Commonwealth trade offers immense opportunities to contribute to reducing poverty and achieving sustainable development,” Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said at the trade ministers’ meeting.
“The multilateral trading system is the only way for our countries, as diverse as they are, to trade in a predictable, stable, transparent and fair environment. While the global trading system may be far from perfect, it is the surest pathway towards eradicating poverty,” she said.
Besides Bangladesh, the other countries chosen for the connectivity clusters include the Gambia, the UK and South Africa, Barbados, and Vanuatu.
The chair of the meeting this week, UK Secretary of State for International Trade Liz Truss, added: “Trade has the power to drive growth, jobs and opportunities – it is an essential tool in the fight against extreme poverty and insecurity.
“By sharing experience across the diverse Commonwealth community, we can help to break down existing barriers to trade which currently prevent businesses in all our countries from trading successfully.”
The outcomes of the trade ministers' meeting in London will inform leaders’ discussions at the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kigali, Rwanda, on June 2020, when progress on the Connectivity Agenda will also be assessed.