President Donald Ramotar lauded the contributions the Commonwealth has made to strengthening democracy and hailed the reconstituted Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) as an opportunity for leaders to recommit to the values and principles of the organisation, at the CMAG meeting held in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Sunday.
Acknowledging that the countries of the Commonwealth were at varying stages of development, the President also noted that it was important to take steps to strengthen the organisation and to ensure that its diversity is maintained, a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Ramotar also noted that the Commonwealth continues to be a relevant institution as countries work together to find solutions to political, socio-economic and environmental problems.
The President then updated his colleague Heads of States, including Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksaas on the work of the Iwokrama International Rainforest Centre. The Heads acknowledged the role that the Iwokrama Rainforest Programme continues to play in promoting research on the impact of climate change as well as in the development of models for sustainable forest management in transition to low carbon development. They supported the intensifying of efforts to find a long-term solution to develop sustained financing for the programme.
The CMAG was established by Commonwealth Heads of Government in Auckland, New Zealand in 1995 to address serious or persistent violations of the Harare Declaration, which contains Commonwealth’s fundamental political values. Its task is to assess the nature of infringements and recommend measures for collective Commonwealth action aimed at speedy restoration of democracy and constitutional rule.
Its membership is at the level of foreign ministers. This is the first time that Guyana was selected to this body, joining Cyprus, India, New Zealand (Vice Chair), Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Solomon Islands and Tanzania (Chair) at the meeting.
At the Sunday meeting the group welcomed the successful conclusion of the presidential election in the Maldives and congratulated the people of the Maldives for demonstrating firm commitment to democracy and for exercising their franchise in record numbers. The CMAG agreed that the Maldives would no longer form part of its formal agenda.
The Guyana delegation also comprised Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Director General at the Foreign Ministry Ambassador Elisabeth Harper, Guyana’s High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Laleshwar Singh and First Lady Deolatchmie Ramotar.
