After having been twice postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, or CHOGM, opened today in Kigali, Rwanda. The gathering will feature high-level meetings of government leaders from the Commonwealth of Nations, a 54-member association of countries, most of which are former territories of the British Empire. In addition to more than 35 heads of state and government from Africa, Asia, the Pacific Islands, the Americas and the Caribbean, this year’s meeting—the first in Africa since 2007—will be attended by an estimated 8,000 guests, including official delegations and top business executives. The leaders’ summit was also preceded by events involving representatives of youth, women, civil society and business groups from Commonwealth countries. At the end of this year’s leaders meeting, Rwandan President Paul Kagame is expected to take over from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as the chair of the Commonwealth for the next two years.

Source: The North Africa Journal June 25, 2022 05:49 UTC