Remarks by Commonwealth Secretary-General, Hon. Shirley Botchwey at the CHOGM: Launch of Commonwealth Trade Portal, Monday 2 November 2026 at the The Sticky Wicket, St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda
We are here to talk about something I care deeply about: how we expand intra-Commonwealth trade to help our nations build their economic resilience and ensure shared prosperity across our Commonwealth.
Our member countries are determined to break the cycle of low growth, reversible progress and unsustainable development. And they are convinced that a strategy of lasting prosperity requires increased trade and that the benefits of that trade are necessary for both the industrialised and developing countries of the Commonwealth. It brings opportunity, choice and wealth. Without expanded trade opportunities, the ability of our countries to promote social mobility and guarantee effective social protection will continue to deteriorate.
When I became Secretary-General in 2025, one of my very first ministerial meetings was with Trade Ministers in Windhoek. I said then that promoting trade and investment would be how the Commonwealth Secretariat helps our members build more resilient economies. Ministers agreed with my proposal to build a Commonwealth trade portal. In my travels to Commonwealth countries, leaders also expressed support for the trade portal, with some sharing ideas on ways to make such a portal even more helpful. Today, we deliver on that mandate.
The portal when fully populated would cover trade in goods and services in all our member countries. It would benefit MSMEs, particularly, due to their limited capacities. Small businesses are the backbone of our economies. In some member countries, they make up more than 95 per cent of all businesses. That is why our Strategic Plan puts small businesses at the heart of our work to promote growth and trade.
At a time when technology is transforming the world of work, an idea in your head and a smartphone in your hand can be all you need to start a business. But many small businesses never trade internationally. Often, the reason is simple lack of information.
Big companies can employ lawyers to advise them which tariffs apply or what paperwork they need. Small business owners work it out for themselves, often at the end of a long day. Our portal is designed to change that.
It brings essential information together in one place, free of charge. And it does four important things. First, it tells businesses the tariffs that apply to their products, including information about any preferential rates.
Second, it provides detailed data on what countries are importing and exporting, so firms can see where demand is growing and decide where best to expand. Third, it signposts them to the national portals that set out each country’s rules on documents, standards and border procedures.
And fourth, it will include a Commonwealth directory of small businesses, so that buyers and suppliers can connect with one another. We are starting with a pilot covering 15 countries. And we are already working with our developers to extend it to all 56 member states. We will keep improving it, guided by the people who use it.
I ask our member governments, Commonwealth business associations and private-sector partners to get behind this portal and help spread the word. Shout it from the rooftops, because it can make a huge difference to people who are working hard every day to grow a business, support their family and provide jobs in their local community.
And to small businesses across the Commonwealth: please try it, use it, and tell us how we can make it better.
Success will be a producer in one of our smallest states finding their first buyer overseas. And then their second. And then their third. And then they take on a staff member. And then an apprentice. And then a second. Soon, a whole community is better off. It is vacation tourists choosing our beautiful islands instead of traditional sites outside the Commonwealth.
We will only realise our ambition to boost intra-Commonwealth trade to US$2 trillion when enterprises of every size, wherever they are, can make new connections and grow their markets.
And that work goes on. As a follow-up to CHOGM, next year’s Commonwealth Trade Ministers Meeting will bring trade and finance ministers together with investment authorities and chief executives.
By breaking down barriers, strengthening trade flows and mobilising high-impact investment, we are determined to make trade an engine of renewed Commonwealth resilience.
And it is now my great pleasure declare the Commonwealth Trade Portal open for business.
