External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has met his counterparts from Tanzania and the Solomon Islands in Kigali and discussed ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in various sectors.
Jaishankar arrived at Kigali on Wednesday (June 22) on a four-day visit to attend the 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). He will be representing Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the summit.
"Met FM Jeremiah Manele of the Solomon Islands at @CHOGM2022. Discussed cooperation in energy, IT, and agriculture," Jaishankar tweeted after the meeting on June 24. He also had a "warm meeting" with Tanzanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Liberata Mulamula.
"Discussed our development partnership that has transformed so many lives. Its results in water, agriculture & education are so visible. Also noted our growing defence & security relationship," he tweeted. Jaishankar also met Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth on the sidelines of the summit.
"Always good to meet PM Pravind Jugnauth of Mauritius. Provided an occasion to monitor the steady growth of our relationship," he said. Jaishankar earlier also called on the Presidents of Maldives and Uganda — Ibrahim Solih and Yoweri Museveni — and discussed the broad-based bilateral cooperation with the two leaders.
He also called on Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and met President of the United Nations General Assembly Abdulla Shahid. He also met his counterparts from the U. K., Namibia, Jamaica, Sierra Leone and Cyprus and discussed a range of regional and global issues with them. The theme of the 26th CHOGM Summit is: "Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming”.
The Leaders of the Commonwealth Member States are scheduled to deliberate on issues of contemporary relevance, including global challenges such as climate change, food security and health issues.
They are likely to adopt the following four Outcome Documents: CHOGM Communique; Kigali Declaration on Child Care and Protection Reform; Declaration on Sustainable Urbanisation and Commonwealth Living Lands Charter: A Commonwealth Call to Action on Living Lands (CALL), the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday.
India is also one of the largest contributors to the Commonwealth and has assisted the organisation with technical assistance and capacity building.
In 2018, India announced the creation of a Commonwealth Window, dedicating $50 million for development projects and assistance to developing countries of the Commonwealth.
