Remarks from the Commonwealth Secretary-General, Hon Shirley Botchwey, at the 26th Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting at Lancaster House in London on 8 March 2026.
I wish to begin by recognising the significance of International Women’s Day. It is a moment to reflect on progress made and distance still to travel.
Even in 2026, gender equality remains far from achieved, and in every society, women and girls continue to face barriers that limit opportunity, participation and security.
Globally, progress is uneven. No indicator under Sustainable Development Goal Five has yet been fully achieved, and projections suggest that closing gender gaps in economic participation, political leadership, health and education could take generations.
And yet, across the Commonwealth, we see every day the extraordinary leadership, innovation and resilience of women and girls. Indeed, I see that quality of leadership reflected around this table and I pay tribute to our women leaders here. The voices, ideas and example of women and girls are indispensable to the future we seek to build – and it remains our duty to dismantle the legal, institutional and social barriers that continue to constrain them.
Only when every woman and girl can participate fully and fairly, will we be able to say that true equality sits at the heart of our shared Commonwealth endeavour. Many of you have journeyed long distances – not least our Chair. All of you shoulder demanding portfolios at a time when events are moving at breakneck speed.
Your presence here reflects your commitment not only to your countries, but to our shared Commonwealth endeavour. And tomorrow, on Commonwealth Day, we will celebrate and renew that shared endeavour.
It will be a powerful reminder that even in unsettled times, there remains a deep reservoir of belief in the idea that a group of countries bound by a painful history can leverage the lessons of history and shared values to reinvent cooperation and end exploitative relationships to ensure resilience and shared prosperity. That is the Commonwealth we can be and that is the Commonwealth our people demand, when they ask “what is your relevance to me?”.
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They are right because the trajectory we are on, with the post- Second World War arrangements and its traditional development cooperation, is failing our people, whether in industrialised countries or developing countries.
They are right because our leaders, diplomatically at the UN in September 2024 and in more unvarnished language in Davos and the Munich Security Conference months ago, said the international order was dead.
Yet in all the commentary, no one mentions the Commonwealth, an association that has demonstrated through the decades a capacity to reach consensus on the most difficult issues that divide it, including the one associated with this building, Lancaster House.
An association that embodies all the possibilities for re-imagining multilateral cooperation, bringing together democracies, in all regions, with a market of over 2.7 billion people, a third of humanity and its youngest population.
I see this as an important opportunity for our Ministers, our leaders, to lead a mindset change that affirms that, through the Commonwealth, we can make create a common market that enhances the potential of Commonwealth businesses and investors to create shared prosperity; a market where our 2.7 billion population can power prosperity through increased purchasing power, guaranteeing each Commonwealth citizen a democratic dividend.
We must use this opportunity to reaffirm the Commonwealth’s special character – and to apply our unique combination of shared values, common interests and joint action to the extraordinary moment we are living through.
The Commonwealth Secretariat is ready to support Member States on this journey. In addition to our 5-year Strategic Plan, we have proposed numerous reforms to position the Commonwealth as an exceptional agency for the multilateralism we need.
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This 26th meeting will bring together Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers to address the role of the Commonwealth in a fast-changing international landscape; and explore impactful and transformative solutions to unlock opportunities together for shared prosperity across the Commonwealth, in the face of a fractured global climate.
In this regard, I am pleased to acknowledge the presence here of our incoming Deputy Secretary-General for Corporate Affairs, Ms Tania Baumann. The Deputy Secretary- General for Programme, Ambassador Tanmaya Lal is unable to join us due to travel restrictions. I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome, for the first time to a CFAMM meeting, Director-General of the Commonwealth Foundation, Ms Razmi Farook and President and Chief Executive Officer of the Commonwealth of Learning, Professor Peter Scott.
The turbulence around us is real. But so too is the influence represented in this room – one third of humanity, across every region of the globe.
The Commonwealth works not as a bloc but as a bridge.
A bridge between regions.
A bridge between large states and small.
A bridge between advanced and developing economies.
A bridge between principles and practical cooperation.
We should be inspired that this association has navigated more than seven decades of extraordinary change.
Our strength lies in our voluntary partnership, anchored in shared conviction, and our willingness to evolve together. We know from experience that moments of systemic stress are also moments when agency matters most.
That is why the theme of this retreat — “The Commonwealth at a Moment of Strategic Opportunity” — is so well chosen. Strategic opportunity does not deny difficulty.
It recognises that when systems are unsettled, those who are organised, aligned and purposeful can shape outcomes rather than simply absorb them. Renewal will not come from declarations alone. It will come from coalitions that are willing – and able – to translate shared values into coordinated action.
The Commonwealth is such a coalition. And the credibility of our coalition rests, first and foremost, on the integrity of our own commitments.
At a time when global corridors are narrowing, there is great scope within our own family to deepen connectivity, reduce barriers, and better integrate small and vulnerable states into value chains.
At a time, when the world feels fragile and multilateralism is under pressure, trust is stretched. And too often, nations are tempted to turn inward. In such a moment, the ties of the Commonwealth matter more than ever. Because when the world fractures, connection matters even more.
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When the rules of the road are disrupted, our values and exceptionalism unite us. And when growth is no longer assured, we must choose strategic partnerships. That is what the Commonwealth offers: fifty-six nations, linked not by geography but by values. Not as the problem of the past, but as a solution of the future.
And that requires reimagining and reinventing the different dimensions of partnership for transformation and growth. Through the Commonwealth, we have proved that the challenging dynamics of the past can be transformed into the partnerships of today.
Partnerships not of dependency, but of equality and shared prosperity. Partnerships where everyone contributes, and everyone benefits.
Together, in the Commonwealth, we have the chance to write a new chapter: one where our shared history becomes the foundation of shared prosperity.
If we choose to think beyond the past and today. If we see trade and investments and the enlarged markets the Commonwealth offers through the lens of endless possibility instead of old fears of risk, the sky indeed will be the limit.
For us, we must believe that the time for modest ambition is over.
And we must prove – through action, through partnership, through vision – that when we stand together, and work together, we can defend our values, advance our interests, and change the world.
When Commonwealth countries engage with coherence across global platforms – including around initiatives such as Bridgetown – our collective voice carries serious power.
Together, we can rise above the chaos we see around us and make our Commonwealth a force for stability, fairness and practical cooperation in a fractured world; a platform that connects the wider world, in pursuit of opportunity and progress.
