|
| ROYAL VISIT - News Archives |
 |
| |
Queen Elizabeth II opens Kampala 2007 CHOGM
State House News (Kampala)
23 November 2007
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the second, who is also the Head of Commonwealth family, has today opened the 3-day Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Kampala with a call to leaders to consider in their discussions the overriding principle of “treating those around us as we would wish to be treated ourselves”.The ceremony took place at Kampala Serena Hotel with leaders from the 53-member countries in attendance.Queen Elizabeth observed that the theme chosen for this year’s meeting, “Transforming Societies”, conveys a clear commitment to change for the better. She noted that no single society has achieved perfection as there is no recipe for success.She, however, pointed out that the two most important ingredients in success is to give people the greatest possible voice in a way they are governed as well as education.Queen Elizabeth was delighted to join the Commonwealth Heads of Government in their summit in Kampala and also to see for herself the strength the organization had attained. She said that Uganda, a country that has a long and rich history as well as the origin of the human race and ideas that spread out to other parts of the globe was now a recipient from the wider world that has come to touch the lives of Ugandans through the Commonwealth Heads of Government and Government Summit.
She also commended the outgoing Secretary General of the Commonwealth Rt. Honourable Don McKinnon for his determination to preserve and promote the relevance of the Commonwealth in the service of its 2 billion people.
President Museveni, while welcoming the Queen who was accompanied by her husband Prince Philip, thanked the couple for their previous visits and the current one not only to Uganda but also to East Africa and the African continent.
The President also welcomed the Heads of Government to the 3-day Commonwealth Summit and to Uganda saying the country is one of the 5 places in the world that are right on the equator and whose climate is unique. He invited them to take time off after the summit to enjoy the good climate.
Commenting on the Summit, President Museveni informed his guests that the Commonwealth is a unique organization because “English” is the medium used for communication. He called on the member countries to use this medium to work on strategic issues that affect the Commonwealth. He further called on member states to become an influential voice in world affairs on issues such as world trade, terrorism and global warming.
On the theme of the Kampala CHOGM summit “social transformation of the Commonwealth Societies”, President Museveni pointed out that 3 categories exist in the family of 53 countries and 2 billion people. He said that countries that transitioned during and after the 2nd World War were able to do so because of the large markets, private sector led growth, exporting finished products, developing the human resource, improved infrastructure, political accountability and peace.
The President, therefore, called on the Commonwealth to play its role in the transformation of societies. He also thanked the outgoing Secretary General Don McKinnon for doing a tremendous job during his term of office.
The outgoing Secretary General Don McKinnon appealed to Commonwealth leaders to look into the issues of climate change and the youth who, he said, make up a half of the population of the Commonwealth.
He told the Summit that the two beckons that guided him during his tour of duty included the values the organization stands for and that of “people”, the most important aspect in the world.
The outgoing Chairperson of the Commonwealth who is also Prime Minister of Malta Dr. Lawrence Gonzi, outlined achievements recorded by the organization in the last 2 years that included, among others, the improvement of Information Communication Technology (ICT) within the Commonwealth countries and beyond. |
| |
|
