Latest content: Economic development

Last month, the Commonwealth Trade Competitiveness team together with the Gambia’s Ministry of Trade and the Gambia Investment and Export Promotion Agency (GiEPA) held a two-day exporters’ stakeholder forum aimed at identifying the most efficient ways to ensure the successful implementation of the Gambia’s National Export Strategy (NES) for 2021-2025.

By Brendan Vickers, Economic Adviser and Head, International Trade Policy Section; Salamat Ali, Economic Adviser & Trade Economist and Neil Balchin, Economic Adviser, Trade Policy Analysis, The Commonwealth Secretariat

A new toolkit launched in the margins of the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 aims to unlock clean energy investments for small island nations, many of whom rely heavily on imported fossil fuels for power generation.

Breaking the world’s reliance on fossil fuels and accelerating the global uptake of renewable energy will play a decisive role in diminishing the threat of global warming to the survival of life on earth, according to experts. But turning the vision into reality will demand unwavering political will and, critically, massive investment, which can no longer be shouldered solely by aid and development partners.

After three years in the making, last week the Commonwealth Secretariat launched its new Voluntary Information and Price-Sharing database (VIPSD). One-third of the world’s population lacks access to essential medicines, with most of them living in poor countries, while rising prices of new drugs are becoming a challenge in wealthy states. And, since the global Covid-19 pandemic, the urgent need for essential medicines has intensified.

At their annual meeting, Commonwealth Finance Ministers were urged to take action to change the current development finance architecture, enhance access to finance for countries vulnerable to climate change and address debt sustainability.

At UNCTAD15 in Barbados, Commonwealth Secretary-General spoke on a hybrid virtual and in-person roundtable on the theme of ‘Regional integration for a resilient, inclusive and sustainable future’.

More than 200 women have completed a Women Economic Entrepreneurship Training (WEET) programme, delivered in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, to empower them with the skills to establish their own businesses.

The Gambia with the support of The Commonwealth Secretariat launched its new five-year export strategy aimed at growing dynamic and sustainable economic growth in the country.

Emerging petroleum-producing countries in the Commonwealth, and beyond, are striving to break the historical mould of fossil fuel-driven growth and forge a new path towards economic resilience.  

Commonwealth countries are estimated to have lost up to US$345 billion worth of trade in 2020, including $60 billion in intra-Commonwealth trade, according to 2021 Commonwealth Trade Review on “Energising Commonwealth Trade in a Digital World: Paths to Recovery Post-COVID”.