Saturday, November 28 2009

click on pic to zoom in

DINNER WITH HER MAJESTY: President George Maxwell Richards, right, and Dr Jean Ramjohn-Richards, second from left, pose for official photographs at a ...

THE Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) was officially launched yesterday, amid solemn speeches and light performances, at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA).

The function served to welcome delegates to serious talks on Commonwealth affairs and climate-change, and to project the artistry of Trinidad and Tobago onto the world stage.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma said of Trinidad and Tobago, “It is a place where the warmth of the sunshine is matched by the warmth we have all received.”

In this regards we heartily congratulate Carnival band- leader/designer Brian Mac Farlane for his stunning portrayals yesterday that brought to life this country’s cultural heritage.

His presentation included an European string quartet, Spanish flamenco dancers, Arab belly-dancers, Chinese lions, East Indian dancers and African drummers.

A more contemporary flavour was given by Tobagonian calypsonian, Shadow; Exodus Steelband; and folk choirs. We congratulate the performers.

It was a wonderful display of the origins of this diverse people and a great advertisement to the world to come to visit to see what Trinidad and Tobago has to offer culturally. The event was televised worldwide, to potentially the two billion people who live in the 53 countries of the Commonwealth.

At the Fifth Summit of the Americas last April, the superb artistic performances had created an enchanted atmosphere that almost certainly helped the Heads of Government to relax and enjoy a new found cordiality in nations, some of which had been beforehand been at ideological loggerheads. We feel confident that the performances given by this country’s artistes yesterday could well do likewise, and again create a harmonious mood among Commonwealth delegates who literally have the weight of the world upon their very shoulders. Among the pressing issues of CHOGM is global warming, even as the whole world gets ready for the United Nations climate change talks in Copenhagen, Denmark on December 7 to 18.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II yesterday said, “The Commonwealth can be proud of the fact that in each of its six decades, it has shaped the international response to emerging global challenges. And on this, the eve of the UN Copenhagen Summit on climate change, the Commonwealth has an opportunity to lead once more.” We keenly welcome Her Majesty’s confident optimism.

Prime Minister Patrick Manning agreed with the Queen, saying, “We hope to arrive at a political statement that can add value to the process that will culminate in Copenhagen next month...What we can do is raise our voices politically.”

Outgoing CHOGM chairman, Uganda President Yoweri Museveni, called for developed nations to cooperate with developing countries, coincidentally even as yesterday British Prime Minister Gordon Brown publicly proposed a US$10 billion “Copenhagen Fund” by which richer countries could help poorer nations adapt to climate change.

So, we welcome the very positive tone of dialogue that has been set so far at CHOGM. In helping to create a cordial mood for these talks, we congratulate all those persons who yesterday did their part — large or small — to make yesterday’s opening ceremony such a great success.