The 17th Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting (CFAMM) takes place on 27 September 2018. Ministers from across the Commonwealth will convene during the UN General Assembly in New York.
The 17th Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting (CFAMM) takes place on 27 September 2018. Ministers from across the Commonwealth will convene during the UN General Assembly in New York. They will discuss implementation of mandates set at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which was held in April this year and saw leaders agree on:
- a Connectivity Agenda for Trade and Investment, to support global growth, create employment and promote sustainable development;
- the Commonwealth Secretariat Blue Charter, which applies the principles of the Commonwealth Charter to action to protect oceans from the effects of climate change, pollution and over-fishing;
- updated election observation guidelines, which strengthen the Commonwealth’s electoral engagement and support to member states;
- the launch of an Innovation Hub to capture and harness the ingenuity within the Commonwealth and direct it to solutions to major, shared concerns such as climate change;
- partnerships such as the Commonwealth Secretariat / Bloomberg collaboration to explore joint initiatives in support of international trade, innovation and sustainability.
Chaired by the United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Jeremy Hunt, CFAMM will also provide an opportunity for special committees to convene, including:
- The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, set up by leaders to provide support to member states with their efforts to uphold the Commonwealth’s shared values and principles; and
- The Commonwealth Ministerial Group on Guyana, created to address the issues relating to the country’s territorial integrity, will also convene and is expected to publish a concluding statement.
CFAMM will give Commonwealth ministers the opportunity to develop joint responses to shared challenges as they take part in global discussion on the UN’s priorities, which include peace and security and the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases.
While attending the meetings, Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland will chair a private roundtable Building Resilient Economies and Preserving Marine Ecosystems in Coastal Nations at Bloomberg’s Global Business Forum and host an event focused on scaling up action to end violence against women.
