By IANS
New Delhi : India remains “strongly committed” to the Commonwealth, which could play a key role in meeting global challenges, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Wednesday on the eve of his departure for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Uganda.
After a whistle-stop trip to Singapore for East Asia summit, Manmohan Singh leaves Thursday morning for Kampala for the CHOGM.
“India is strongly committed to the Commonwealth’s role of nurturing a sense of belonging to a shared past and a shared destiny based on common values,” said Manmohan Singh.
Noting that India had “consistently played an active role in the Commonwealth”, he added that he will seek to enhance technical assistance and cooperation programmes with developing countries in Africa and other regions.
He felt that the 53-member Commonwealth was “uniquely placed to harness the strength and diversity of its membership in cooperating with each other and addressing the global challenges of trade, sustainable development and social advancement”.
Stating that he looked forward to having dialogues with other state leaders, Manmohan Singh said, “I will use the opportunity to highlight the major socio-economic transformation that is underway in India, and the opportunities this provides for the emergence of a new world order.”
This year, CHOGM has on its agenda the global challenges of climate change, human rights, terrorism and Millennium Development Goals, with the theme of the meeting being “Transforming Societies to achieve Political, Economic and Human Development”.
The agenda will also include issues relating to the 32 small states that are Commonwealth members.