Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma will be in New York from 23 to 28 September 2010 as a lead speaker at the United Nations special summit of world leaders addressing the needs and priorities of small states. He will also participate in a number of Commonwealth ministerial meetings.

On 24 September 2010, Mr Sharma will speak at the opening of the United Nations “Mauritius+5” summit.

Speaking ahead of his trip, the Secretary-General said that the Commonwealth has always recognised the vulnerability of small states and worked to be a global champion and advocate for them, calling for the international community to pay special attention to their development concerns.

“Small states are at the heart of the Commonwealth’s work. The concerns and needs of small states must be taken into account at the UN and in all other global settings where the solutions to today’s global challenges are being debated,” the Secretary-General said. “There must be further major steps forward by the international community to ensure that the small and vulnerable and voiceless have the opportunity to integrate and participate effectively in the global economy.”

“As a matter of fact, 32, out of the 54 of our member states are Small States – so for us, their concerns, such as susceptibility to natural disasters, limited options for livelihoods, remoteness and limited institutional capacity, are serious matters that affects a big proportion of our family,” he added.

The UN session will be focussing on ways of implementing the Mauritius Strategy, a plan of action agreed by the international community to support sustainable development of Small Island Development States.

The Secretary-General will also attend an annual meeting of Foreign Ministers representing the Commonwealth’s 54 member countries that takes place in the wings of the UN General Assembly. The meeting, on 27 September 2010, will review the Commonwealth’s political and economic work and the priorities set by Commonwealth heads of government. It will also focus on the preparations for the forthcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting to be held in Perth, Australia in October 2011.

The Secretary-General will also attend a meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) – the body that monitors the adherence of member states to the fundamental political values of the organisation, on 25 September 2010.

Two further ministerial meetings will take place in New York – one of the Commonwealth Ministerial Committee on Belize and the Ministerial Group on Guyana.

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Cathy Price Administrative Assistant Communications & Public Affairs Division   Commonwealth Secretariat Marlborough House Pall Mall London SW1Y 5HX United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 20 7747 6386    Fax: Direct +44 (0) 20 7004 3771  General: +44 (0) 20 7839 9081 Web: www.thecommonwealth.org Did You Know? The Commonwealth assists countries with international trade, debt, finance, and economic and legal advice.