By SEAN DOUGLAS Monday, November 30 2009

THE Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) said no one country can solve the worlds’s problems but that the Commonwealth can help build partnerships to tackle vital issues such as climate change.

As Prime Minister Patrick Manning yesterday closed CHOGM 2009, a statement was issued, “The Declaration of Port-of-Spain — Partnering for a more equitable and sustainable future”.

It said the CHOGM occurred at a time when the world faces an unprecedented combination of social, economic and environmental challenges, including a debilitating global economic/financial crisis, volatile commodity-prices, and the alarming impacts of climate-change, which threaten millions.

“We also note with grave concern that many of the world’s poorest communities are most vulnerable to these challenges”. These challenges cannot be solved by any one country but rather by international cooperation, sustained commitment and collective action.

“This calls for the strengthening of multilateral cooperation, based on mutual respect, openness and partnership.” The CHOGM leaders vowed, “We will also capitalise on the Commonwealth’s unique abilities to advocate for partnerships with other members of the international community”. Such collaboration gives opportunities to improve lives, build more resilient communities and strengthen bonds between nations.

Of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDG) in poverty-reduction, health, education, and gender-equality, it said, “While significant progress is being made in many countries, we remain deeply concerned that many Commonwealth countries are falling behind the MDG targets”.

The declaration committed the leaders to building partnerships and networks for development, especially with “high impact initiatives with clearly measurable outcomes”.

Regarding debt and economics, it said, “We believe that there must now be a far stronger emphasis on science, technology and innovation (STI) as key drivers of the type of economic transformation, employment generation and growth that will be required to emerge from the current economic crisis, attain our development objectives and realise our collective vision of sustainable”.

The statement said the Commonwealth is a platform for members to communicate, share ideas and coordinate across large geographical and cultural distances. “It can therefore generate and sustain effective international action on global challenges”.