Following COVID-19 Setback, Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting Set for June 2021

Rita Osakwe

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Hon Patricia Scotland, on Wednesday announced the new date for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

Previously scheduled for June 2020 in Kigali, the meeting was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The new date agreed with member countries will be the week of 21 June, 2021.

President Kagame said the meeting, which will be the first to be held in Africa since 2007, will provide an opportunity to discuss connecting, innovating, and transforming the Commonwealth.

“CHOGM Rwanda 2021 will be an exceptional occasion to deliberate together on the enormous technological, ecological, and economic challenges and opportunities facing the Commonwealth, particularly our young people, and which are all the more pressing as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Kagame said in a statement.

“Rwanda looks forward to welcoming all delegates and participants to Kigali next year for a safe and productive meeting.”

COVID-19 and the Commonwealth’s post recovery will be a focal topic during the meeting. Secretary General Patricia Scotland said she was looking forward to Commonwealth leaders coming together to take practical action on critical issues.

“Our meetings in Rwanda will give us a real opportunity to focus on our post COVID recovery, but we also know that the pandemic has not reduced the urgency with which global challenges such as climate change, the global economy, trade and sustainable development need to be dealt with decisively through multilateral cooperation and mutual support.”

CHOGM is customarily held every two years and is the Commonwealth’s highest consultative and policy-making gathering. Commonwealth leaders selected Rwanda as host for their next summit when they met in London in 2018.

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