Its 54 member countries met in Rwanda’s capital Kigali as part of an exercise to revive the Commonwealth organization that has been dormant for years. Detailed discussions took place, but the road ahead for further progress did not appear to be easy. According to experts, progress in this regard will be made only when some basic hurdles are removed. India had a significant presence in the recently held conference. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar represented India.
For the first time since 2007, the meeting of the heads of state of this organization is being held in Africa. Rwanda has never been a vassal of the UK, but in 2009 it itself became a member of the Commonwealth. Apart from Asia, Africa is the second continent, from which centuries ago the British Empire was able to achieve such great power due to human and economic exploitation. Whatever the reason, in the Indo-Pacific era, someone remembered Africa.
The Commonwealth paints an impressive picture in terms of its scope. One-third of the world’s population belongs to its member countries. These countries are spread over the Caribbean and America (13), Africa (19), Asia (8), Europe (3) and the Pacific (11). Not only this, today, when the emphasis of multilateralism is decreasing in the world, then the membership of Rwanda and Mozambique and the former French-ruled countries – Gabon and Togo’s attempt to membership in the Kigali summit meeting is an interesting thing.
The decision to allow Rwanda to host the summit certainly calls into question the Commonwealth’s commitment to human rights and democracy. The recent controversy in Britain regarding Rwanda also sheds light on this. Rwanda has been a haven for unwanted UK migrants, which has been widely criticized in the UK.
Recently there has been a deal between Britain and Rwanda under which asylum seekers will be sent to Rwanda. They will not be allowed to enter Britain. This also undermines the fact that the Commonwealth is a rule-bound and value-oriented organization. Since its inception, the Commonwealth has been woven around Britain. This situation is still the same.
Today, when Britain is looking for new ground for itself after coming out of Brexit, the relevance of the Commonwealth has increased in such a situation. Perhaps this is the reason why Britain is trying to increase trade with Commonwealth countries. There is no doubt that due to countries like India, South Africa, Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Canada and New Zealand, the Commonwealth can still play an important role in world politics. But talks of mutual cooperation seem meaningless. Particularly when Britain is unwilling to hand over the leadership of the organization to Australia, Canada, South Africa or India.
question of preference
29 heads of government from around the world attended the Kigali meeting, while their ministers or senior officials from 25 countries such as Australia, South Africa, India and New Zealand represented their respective countries. This sent a clear message that powers like India and South Africa are closer than BRICS. Somewhere these countries feel that they have more benefit from BRICS. Both Russia and China have major roles in BRICS. And these countries are becoming the cause of problems for America and the European Union.