Visit Indian Travel Sites
Goa,
Kerala,
Tamil Nadu,
Andhra Pradesh,
Delhi,
Rajasthan,
Uttar Pradesh,
Himachal Pradesh,
Assam,
Sikkim,
Madhya Pradesh,
Jammu & Kashmir
Karnataka
|
Manmohan Singh arrives in Trinidad for CHOGM | The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, arrived on Thursday afternoon from Washington to attend the three-day
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) here. The CHOGM will be formally declared open at the National Academy for Performing Arts in Port-of-Spain
today. The focus of this meeting is expected to be on climate change. Representatives of
member-nations are expected to establish the Commonwealth's position on the problem
ahead of next month's United Nations Climate Change Talks in Copenhagen. United
Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Danish
Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen will be the special guests at the deliberations
related to climate change. Rasmussen
will be chairing the UN talks in Copenhagen . CHOGM's taking up of the climate
change issue is of significance to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and other
small island developing states within and out of the Commonwealth,as global warming
has led to an increasing threat of rising sea levels and severe damage to their
economies. The CARICOM has urged developed nations to abide by the UN
Framework
Convention on Climate Change that was agreed to in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil in
1992 to effectively reduce the degree of their greenhouse emissions. While many
developed nations have complied, particularly with respect to the production of
chlorofluorcarbons (CFC) used extensively in aerosol propellants, it is increasingly
clear that several have not. The negative impact on climate change on small island
developing states is and will be huge. It could lead to land erosion caused by
abnormally rising tide levels and an adverse effect on fish stocks triggering
migration. The unrestricted use of fossil fuels such as coal, along with the cutting
down of forests for their wood is also a matter of concern to the CARICOM and
may be deliberated upon during this year's CHOGM because of its adverse impact
on the ozone layer. The CHOGM is held every two years in different member states
in collaboration with the Commonwealth Secretariat, and is chaired by that nation's
prime minister or president. The 2009 meeting will see Britain 's Queen Elizabeth
II making an appearance as the Head of the Commonwealth. Elizabeth 's son, Prince
Charles, represented her at the last meeting. From 1944 until 1971, the meetings
were known as Commonwealth Prime Ministers Conferences and were generally held
in London , although the Commonwealth leaders met in Lagos in 1966. The first
CHOGM was held in January 1971 in Singapore , where the Commonwealth Heads of
Government agreed on a set of ideals which are embraced by all members and provide
a basis for peace, understanding and goodwill among all nations and people. Since
then, CHOGMs have taken place on a biennial basis. CHOGMs have attempted to
orchestrate
common policies on contentious issues and current events, with a special focus
on issues affecting member nations. Meetings of associated committees usually
take place in the weeks preceding the CHOGM. These include the Committee of the
Whole, which consists of senior officials. The Commonwealth Ministers' Action
Group on the Harare Declaration and the Ministerial Group on Small States may
also meet. Their recommendations are considered at CHOGM. Parallel special events
involving non-government organizations, business and youth now coincide with each
CHOGM. Action plans are developed at these events to complement official
Commonwealth
statements. The last CHOGM took place in 2007 in Kampala , the capital of east
African nation Uganda . In anticipation of the CHOGM, the Government of Trinidad
and Tobago has ordered all schools and public offices to be closed on Friday.
The judiciary has also decided to close the Port of Spain High Court and the Port
of Spain Magistrates Court on that day. Most of the ministries are situated in
Port of Spain , including that of Finance, Planning, Housing, Works and Transport,
Attorney General, Sports, Public Utilities, Energy, Trade and Public Administration.
Only managers of the Parliament would be coming out to work in order to prepare
to host Secretary General William Shija of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association,
CHOGM's sister body. Trinidadians here have welcomed the undeclared holiday, the
third this week. |
|
|
|
|
|