Queen Elizabeth II to open Commonwealth meeting in Malta

Counter-terrorism is top of Mr. Cameron’s agenda for the meeting in the Maltese capital, Valletta.

The 24th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) was declared open today by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II at the Mediterranean Convention Centre in Valetta, Malta.

She spoke of the Commonwealth’s potential to tackle climate change – for example the Commonwealth Canopy initiative to protect the world’s forests – and stressed the importance of getting young people involved in the fight to slow global warming. And I have been especially touched by one such project, The Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy, which has been proposed by Commonwealth countries wanting to harness their collective expertise and resources to protect the world’s forests.

A Commonwealth unit targeting the extremist “scourge” that is fuelling global terrorism is being set up under plans announced by David Cameron.

The Commonwealth leaders called for developed nations to spend $100 billion a year by 2020 to help developing countries deal with the effects of climate change.

“The Commonwealth has a vital role to play in broadening worldwide efforts to counter extremism”, Cameron said.

Among the few things concluded at the flop 2009 Copenhagen global climate change summit were things agreed beforehand by the Commonwealth.

“We are mobilising ourselves in favour of the environment for the planet”. The Queen said she was indebted to Prince Philip for his “boundless energy and commitment” to the Commonwealth over that time.

“Thirty-one of our 53 members are small states and 25 are small island developing states, which are most vulnerable to climate change”, the statement quoted Sharma as saying.

Delivering his opening remarks as the outgoing Chair in Office of the Commonwealth, the Sri Lankan President pointed out that the issues such as sustainability, greatly emphasized during the CHOGM in Colombo in 2013, have been raised subsequently in the United Nations, thus combining the commonwealth endeavor in this regard.

Indian officials put forth India’s views on the issue during hectic parleys here maintaining that developed countries must ensure financing and technology transfer to developing countries to help them reach their target of bringing down carbon emissions, they said.

She no longer takes long-haul flights and would not be able to travel to the summits planned in the South Pacific island of Vanuatu for 2017 and in Malaysia for 2019.

The prime minister took part in a lunch with Queen Elizabeth, the 89-year-old monarch who royal watchers say may be attending her last Commonwealth meeting.