Latest content: Connectivity Agenda

Promoting the move to paperless trade, the Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda together with officials from Commonwealth member countries and international organisations held a side event during the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific’s (UNESCAP) Paperless Trade Week in Bangkok, Thailand from 3-7 June.
Read news - Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda champions paperless trade at UNESCAP Paperless Trade Week
Data could be the conduit for boosting intra-Commonwealth trade and investment as enshrined in the ‘Declaration on the Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda for Trade and Investment’. The sharing of data according to the Open Data Institute (ODI), can create social and economic value for people, organisations, and the wider economy. Ensuring data sovereignty including maintaining a secure, trusted data environment, governments have an important role to play in laying the foundations for a flourishing data-driven economy by pursuing policies that improve the flow of data and ensuring that companies who want to innovate have appropriate access to high-quality and well-maintained data.
Read publication - National Agriculture Data Infrastructure: Malawi
Ghana is well positioned to tap into the potential of digitalisation across its agriculture sector. A multi-stakeholder dialogue with representatives from the sector, including digital agricultural services providers, confirmed that numerous organisations were already engaged in agricultural data management. Participants identified and shared experiences of several well-established systems and platforms for data management already operational in the country. However, they also described fragmented databases, an unwillingness to share data, operational inefficiencies, data collection fatigue, unsuited policies based on unreliable data and a data power imbalance.
Read publication - National Agricultural Data Infrastructure: Ghana
28 May 2024 to 28 May 2024
(Antigua and Barbuda (GMT-4))
Event
The fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States dubbed ‘SIDS4’ will be held on 27 – 30 May 2024 in St John’s, Antigua and Barbuda. The Commonwealth Secretariat in partnership with United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and The Pacific Community (SPC) are hosting a side event at SIDS4 in Antigua and Barbuda.
The 3rd Biennial Pan-Commonwealth Meeting for Heads of Public Service concluded with a resounding call for more investment in Smart technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance planning and decision-making for more efficient and effective public service delivery and achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) across the Commonwealth. 
Read news - Commonwealth public service heads advocate for smart tech investment
The Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, is supporting the growth of digital technology, with a particular focus on artificial intelligence (AI). The Secretariat is doing its part to accelerate progress with citizens in its 56 member states. 
Read news - ‘We must leave no one behind’ – the Commonwealth Secretary-General urges greater adoption of digital technology
In a stride towards advancing the digital economy and e-commerce in the Pacific region, the Commonwealth Connectivity Agenda (CCA), the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) have joined forces to organise a three-day workshop on 'Effective Legal Frameworks for Building the Digital Economy'.
Read news - Commonwealth works to forge sustainable and resilient digital economies within the Pacific
18 October 2023 to 20 October 2023
(BST)
Training
The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) in conjunction with The Commonwealth Secretariat and Asian Development Bank (ADB) and The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) will be hosting a Workshop on Effective Legal Frameworks for Building the Digital Economy on 18-20 October 2023, at the Pacific Islands Forum Headquarters in Suva, Fiji. 
The 2023 Commonwealth Trade Ministers Meeting (CTMM) opened today at Marlborough House in London. The meeting, being held on the 5th and 6th of June, brings together trade ministers from across the Commonwealth to discuss and deliberate on key issues related to trade and investment.
Read news - Commonwealth Trade Ministers Meet to Foster Cooperation for Resilient, Inclusive, Green and Digital Economies