President Kegame Welcomes Delegates to Kigali for CHOGM2022
As the Commonwealth member States prepare to converge on Kigali, the sui generis capital of Rwanda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) , President Paul Kegame has sent out a great welcoming message to usher the delegates into his enchanting destination.
The CHOGM will take place from 24th – 25th June, 2022 in Kigali where the Heads of CommonWealth member countries will converge to deliberate on the way forward for the organisation and the theme for CHOGM 2022 is ‘Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming‘ which indicates the dynamics within the 54 member countries in the Commonwealth family on ‘innovating, connecting and transforming’ leading to the actuallsation of some of its pivotal objectives, such as protecting lives, natural resources and boosting trade.
President Paul Kegame has this to say:
“Rwanda is pleased to welcome all delegates and participants to Kigali for a safe and productive CHOGM Rwanda 2022.
“The last two years have made it clear to us that we are more connected than ever before and we must work together to achieve the tangible and sustainable results we want.
“The long awaited meeting will be an important occasion to come together to address the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and to build on innovative technological and economic opportunities to solve other key problems facing our citizens.”
CHOGM 2022 will be the 26th Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations and it is expected to serve as an avenue for robust deliberations on global issues especially those that have direct impact on the member States.
Commonwealth Chair-in-Office currently is the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Boris Johnson who has been in position since 2019. He hopes to give a state of affairs report at the meeting.
It is expected that Prince Charles, the heir apparent to the British throne will be among the dignitaries, definitely representing the Queen who recently celebrated Platinum Jubilee on the British throne, making her the second longest serving monarch in history.
There will be various sideline events on youths, investment and other cogent areas of human endeavors that will preceed the main event starting from 19th-23rd June,
Commonwealth leaders that be will traveling to Rwanda hope to reaffirm their common values and agree on actions, policies and pragmatic approaches to improve the lives of all their citizens.
The meeting was originally scheduled for 26–27 June 2020 preceded by various fora between 22–25 June, but was postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On 31 January 2022, it was announced that the meeting would be held on 24 and 25 June 2022 and the pre-meeting fora held from 20 to 23 June.
This is coming against the backdrop of a collaboration between Rwanda and Britain, where illegal migrants in the United Kingdom will be sent to Rwanda Refuge Camp, thinking such a move would serve as a detterent to other intending migrants. A move, many, including the Bishops of UK and allegedly Prince Charles have described as “shameful”.
