Voice of America News

Commonwealth Picks Indian Diplomat as New Leader

24 November 2007

The British Commonwealth has appointed Indian diplomat Kamalesh Sharma as its new secretary-general. The appointment was made at the Commonwealth summit currently underway in Uganda. Malcolm Webb reports for VOA from Kampala.

Sharma was unanimously elected by the 53 member states of the Commonwealth on the second day of their heads of government meeting in the Ugandan capital Kampala

Sharma, the Indian High Commissioner to London, will be the organization's first Asian secretary-general. He was chosen over Maltese Foreign Minister Michael Frendo and will take over April 1 from the current secretary-general, New Zealand's Don Mckinnon.

At a news conference following his appointment, Sharma said the Commonwealth is a global good, and he will take on the position with enthusiasm and confidence. He spoke about the benefits the Commonwealth can bring to its smaller and poorer members, such as the Caribbean Island countries.

"We should try and see where we can further assist aid for trade," said Shamar. "We have talked about, for instance, how can we do trade facilitation, how can we give help so that small states have exportable goods."

"I am very particular in emphasizing on the area of services, because services is now a globally burgeoning industry. I think the 21st century is going to be a much trading century in services, if not more than in goods," he added.

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