ISLAMABAD: Commonwealth heads welcomed Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s announcement about hosting the 10th Commonwealth Youth Ministerial Meeting in Islamabad in January 2023.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar represented Pakistan at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held on June 24-25 in Kigali, Rwanda.
During the meeting, a specially recorded video message of PM Shehbaz Sharif was played. In his message, the premier announced to host the next Commonwealth Youth Ministerial Meeting in Islamabad.
Themed ‘Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, and Transforming’, the Summit discussed the issues concerning the Commonwealth, including post-COVID economic recovery, disruptions caused by pandemic and conflict, the challenge of climate change and sustainable development, promotion of democratic values and fundamental freedoms and enhancement of trade among other matters, read a statement issued by the Foreign Office.
As head of the Pakistan delegation, Minister of State Khar represented Pakistan at the CHOGM plenary, the Retreat and the Intergenerational Dialogue. She also participated actively in Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministerial Meeting held on 23 June 2022 in the run-up to the Summit.
The minister of state held productive bilateral meetings with the deputy prime minister of Australia as well as foreign ministers of Kenya, Tanzania, Singapore, New Zealand, Sierra Leone, Jamaica and Dominica, and the UK’s Minister for South Asia, Commonwealth and the UN.
On the sidelines, she interacted, among others, with Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall; President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the UK, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada and UN General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid.
At the Intergenerational Dialogue, Pakistan was showcased as the Commonwealth member from Asia representing youth potential, along with Canada, Barbados and Samoa from the Americas-Europe, the Caribbean and the Pacific respectively.
The Summit, which was convened after a hiatus of nearly four years, was one of the largest in-person gatherings of heads of government following the pandemic. It provided a useful opportunity for the member states to take stock and set the organisational agenda for the next two years, read the statement.
