Latest content: Trade and economy

By Dr Mohamed Z M Aazim, Adviser, Debt Management, Commonwealth Secretariat

Government debt is increasing in most Commonwealth countries. In some cases, it is growing faster than the economies that need to support it.

Across the Commonwealth, women entrepreneurs are sparking meaningful change. From the bustling markets of Cameroon to the co-working spaces of Fiji and the tech labs of Canada, they are reshaping economies, lifting communities, and proving that inclusive growth isn’t just a slogan, it’s a necessity.

Trade Ministers from across the Commonwealth have concluded two days of high-level deliberations in Windhoek, Namibia, at the 2025 Commonwealth Trade Ministers Meeting (CTMM), with a bold affirmation of their shared commitment to deepen intra-Commonwealth trade, unlock sustainable investment, and defend the integrity of the multilateral trading system.

The Commonwealth Trade Ministers Meeting opened today in Windhoek, Namibia, with a united call for stronger cooperation, fairer financing, and a reinvigorated multilateral trading system, as member countries face rising global fragmentation, trade barriers, and climate-related shocks.

Commonwealth Secretary-General, Hon Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Opening Keynote: Commonwealth Trade Ministers Meeting in Windhoek, Namibia, on 19 June 2025.

As global trade continues to be tested by geopolitical uncertainty, supply chain pressures, and rising economic disparities, the Commonwealth Business Summit opened today in Windhoek with a clear message: trade and investment must deliver for all.

Commonwealth Trade Ministers will gather in Windhoek, Namibia, in June 2025 for their biennial Ministerial Meeting at a tumultuous time for global trade. Formidable headwinds are buffeting a global trading system already reeling on the back of the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East, escalating geopolitical tensions, increasing fragmentation of the global economy, and disruption and destabilisation of global supply chains. An alarming trend of rising protectionism – headlined by the current United States administration’s tariff policies, escalating trade tensions and the prospect of a protracted trade war between the United States and China – threatens to further undermine the stability of the global trading order.

With the deadline for countries to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions fast approaching, the Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, urged business leaders to be ambitious in shaping the future of the planet.

A blog by Collin Zhuawu, Acting Head and Adviser, Multilateral Trade, International Trade Policy Team, Commonwealth Secretariat.

The Commonwealth Secretariat and UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) today hosted a roundtable on gender and energy security at Marlborough House in London.

A blog by Collin Zhuawu, Economic Adviser on Multilateral Trade in the International Trade Policy Section of the Commonwealth Secretariat, exploring the European Union’s environmental agenda and its implications for Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries.

Commonwealth Secretary-General, Hon Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, speaking at the 2025 Commonwealth Trade and Investment Summit