DirectNews™  CHOGM to run between November 27th and 29th

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) is taking place in Trinidad and Tobago between November 27th and 29th. Running every two years, heads of states from across the commonwealth meet to discuss issues and agree to new policies and initiatives.

While the opening ceremony is public and an executive session is held as a formal event, many of the other meetings are held in informal, private settings.

"The atmosphere is informal, encouraging a full and frank exchange of views, and decisions are normally reached by consensus. Many important commonwealth initiatives have emerged from these retreats," the commonwealth secretariat reports.

Among the issues that have been discussed at the event are democracy, human rights, information and communication technologies and the law.

There are currently 53 countries in the Commonwealth, including 32 small states and a total population of two billion.

The modern commonwealth was formed in 1949 by the London Declaration, where members ceased to be united by allegiance to the British Crown in favour of a common allegiance to King George VI as head of the group. END

CHOGM Member States: Antigua and Barbuda Australia The Bahamas Bangladesh Barbados Belize Botswana Brunei Darussalam Cameroon Canada Cyprus Dominica Fiji Islands* The Gambia Ghana Grenada Guyana India Jamaica Kenya Kiribati Lesotho Malawi Malaysia Maldives Malta Mauritius Mozambique Namibia Nauru** New Zealand Nigeria Pakistan Papua New Guinea St Kitts and Nevis St Lucia St Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Solomon Islands South Africa Sri Lanka Swaziland Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tuvalu Uganda United Kingdom United Republic of Tanzania Vanuatu Zambia

53 independent states working together in the common interests of their citizens for development, democracy and peace. Simply Select the name or the flag of a country below to find out more or visit the Country Profiles Homepage to view a map of the Commonwealth. *Fiji Islands was suspended from the Councils of the Commonwealth in December 2006 following a military coup **Nauru is a Member in Arrears