By SEAN DOUGLAS Wednesday, November 4 2009

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Paula Gopee-Scoon...

BRITISH High Commissioner, Eric Jenkinson, said Queen Elizabeth II was keen to come to Trinidad for the 2009 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Port-of- Spain at month-end, when she will also be on an official State visit.

Jenkinson was answering reporters’ questions after a dinner for Commonwealth High Commissioners hosted by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Paula Gopee-Scoon, at the Carlton Savannah Hotel on Monday.

Jenkinson said, “The Queen’s attendance is two-fold. First she’s coming as Head of the Commonwealth, and secondly she’s coming on a very important State visit to Trinidad and Tobago.” He said he knew something about what the Queen was thinking since he has had the privilege of an audience with Her Majesty.

“We are in touch more than daily with Buckingham Palace. She is looking forward to her State visit here. She regards the Commonwealth as being one of her duties, since the start of her reign, and she intends to continue with her commitment to the Commonwealth.”

Jenkinson noted that Her Majesty was not in the driving seat of the Commonwealth’s policy. “But the State visit was entirely different, and there Her Majesty knows Trinidad and Tobago very well. She remembers it with a lot of enthusiasm, and she’s looking forward to renewing that relationship.”

It was agreed that CHOGM was a vital precursor to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark in December.

Minister Gopee-Scoon said: “There are just seven countries represented around the table, so it’s difficult to say what will be articulated on behalf of all of the 51 participating countries at the CHOGM meeting. But certainly as we get closer to the Copenhagen meeting — and this (CHOGM) is the last forum before that — it is certain that what we are looking to get out of the CHOGM forum will be a very strong position on climate-change. It is doubtful that there would be a position of consensus at this stage...It is doubtful that there would be one statement coming out of this meeting, but certainly a strong statement will certainly engender well for negotiations at the UN...”.

Eric Jenkinson said CHOGM was vital, ahead of Copenhagen. He said: “It is an important meeting and it is going to determine the voice of the Commonwealth, and it may be more than one voice. Let’s not delude ourselves into thinking that we can all be unified. But nonetheless it will articulate the mix of views between the developed and the developing countries, and the smaller island states as well.

Minister Gopee-Scoon was asked about the fact that just seven of the 51 Commonwealth countries were represented at her dinner. She replied Trinidad and Tobago has diplomatic relations with many Commonwealth countries even if they are not represented here. She said, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has embarked on an exercise where we will be seeking to finalise and formalise diplomatic relations with almost all of the countries of the Commonwealth, before the (CHOGM) meeting”.

She said all 51 Commonwealth members would attend CHOGM, except Fiji and Nauru, as she noted Zimbabwe was not a Commonwealth member.