About the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018

From 16 to 20 April 2018, the UK hosted the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) with leaders from members countries gathering in London and Windsor.

The Commonwealth is a diverse community of 53 nations that work together to promote prosperity, democracy and peace. This Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) brings together leaders from all the member countries in London and Windsor.

They came together to reaffirm our common values, address the shared global challenges we face and agree how to work to create a better future for all our citizens, particularly young people. The summit’s theme was: ‘Towards a common future’. It aimed to build links between countries to offer young people access to knowledge and skills; and give them a voice on key issues such as democracy, human rights and the rule of law.

Across the Commonwealth, member states face common challenges and threats to our shared values of democracy, good governance and inclusivity as set out in the Commonwealth Charter. The Commonwealth’s various constituencies – the Commonwealth Secretariat, its members or its myriad of organisations and networks – mean it is uniquely placed to respond to these challenges.

At the summit, leaders came together to focus on:

  • a more sustainable future: the Commonwealth is well placed to take action, underlining our on-going commitment to tackling climate change, protecting the environment and increasing the resilience of our members

  • a fairer future: by upholding and promoting the principles of the Commonwealth Charter, we can ensure a fairer future for all members of the Commonwealth, and provide the essential basis for sustainable development

  • a more secure future: Commonwealth member states are ideally placed to partner, aid and learn from each other in tackling the threats of terrorism, serious organised crime, cyber crime, violent extremism and human trafficking

  • a more prosperous future: by working together, we can promote trade and investment as a means to drive economic growth, create jobs, and ensure the prosperity of our citizens

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