It is a pleasure to join you once again at the Commonwealth Trade and Investment Summit.
When I spoke at this Summit last year – my first external address as Secretary-General – I made a clear commitment: to place trade and investment at the heart of the Commonwealth’s renewal.
One year on, that commitment remains, and it is more urgent than ever. Because the world around us has become more fragmented, more uncertain, and its rules more contested.
Global trade is under strain, with unilateralism and conflict at the heart of it.
Supply chains are shifting.
Rules are being rewritten.
And trust – so essential to economic cooperation – is under pressure.
At the same time, growth appears as elusive as ever for our member countries, putting at risk the quality of life, social mobility and social protection of our 2.7 billion people. In this environment, the case for a new Commonwealth grows ever stronger.
Because what we offer is unique: connection in a fragmented world; trust in an uncertain system; a platform for practical cooperation that is built on shared values, shared systems, and deep human ties.
That is the Commonwealth Advantage.
Trade between our countries remains, on average, 21% cheaper. Investment flows are stronger. And across 56 nations, we represent a market of 2.7 billion people – young, dynamic, and full of potential. Our task is to turn that advantage into resilience. Into opportunity. And into tangible outcomes for our people.
But only if we approach opportunity with new thinking and high ambition.
To create together, through a public and private sector partnership, a market that powers thriving businesses and in turn drives purchasing power of each of our citizens, a virtuous circle leading to shared prosperity across all Commonwealth countries. That should be our bottom-line. I invite you to think about it.
We at the Commonwealth Secretariat are playing our part. Over the past year, we have rolled out a new Strategic Plan – placing resilient economies at its core. Resilience that goes beyond absorbing shocks to shape the future. Building economies that are more connected, more inclusive, and more investable.
And we continue to fight for transparent, equitable, inclusive, non-discriminatory, open, and rules-based multilateral trading and finance system, with the World Trade Organization at its core. That cannot be achieved by governments alone – and the private sector is not a peripheral partner. It is central.
From financing infrastructure and scaling digital trade to driving innovation in energy, agriculture and manufacturing – It is businesses, investors, and entrepreneurs who will turn our shared ambition into real economic transformation.
Our role – as the Commonwealth – is to create the conditions for that to happen consistently across all our nations.
To lower barriers.
To align regulation.
To end digital fragmentation.
To unlock finance.
And to connect opportunity with capital.
We are determined to work with our Member Countries to review and further reduce non-tariff measures that hinder trade between Commonwealth Member Countries on identified products; to strengthen coordination and transparency on Non-Tariff Barrier-reduction programs and reduce regulatory friction; provide technical assistance and capacity building support to address non-tariff barriers through multilateral agreements; and encourage the implementation of regional trade protocols to discourage the implementation of new technical barriers to intra-Commonwealth trade.
For now, we are focusing our work in three key areas:
First, expanding opportunity across the Commonwealth. Too many countries – and too many communities – remain at the margins of global trade. We are working to change that by strengthening digital trade, supporting small businesses, and ensuring women and young entrepreneurs can fully participate in the global economy.
Second, building investable pipelines at scale. Across our regions – from Africa to the Caribbean to the Pacific – there is no shortage of opportunity. What is missing is the connection between projects and finance. Initiatives like the Commonwealth Investment Network are helping to close that gap and mobilise capital where it is needed most.
Third, positioning the Commonwealth at the centre of the global economy of the future. Critical minerals, clean energy, digital services, sustainable supply chains – all of these have huge potential across Commonwealth nations. And the resources, talent, and potential of our people are essential in the global economy.
The question is not whether the world will need what the Commonwealth has. The question is whether we will work together to ensure that value is realised – fairly, sustainably, and at scale.
Because trade is not just about the exchange of goods and services. It is about the exchange of opportunity. It is about whether a young entrepreneur can reach a new market. Whether a small state can build a resilient economy. Whether growth is shared – or concentrated.
That is what is at stake.
And that is why the choices we make now – as governments, as businesses, as partners –matter so much. So this moment of challenge becomes, for us, a strategic opportunity.
Trading together makes us more resilient. Investing in one another offers a future that is more stable, more prosperous, and fairer. This is our moment to turn partnership into progress.
Let us seize it – together.
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