Newsletter

ESG in full refers to “(E)nvironmental, (S)ocial and (G)overnance” principles. While no official definition of ESG exists, it is agreed to be a holistic management framework of standards for all business-centric stakeholders involved in the structuring of organisations to understand and measure how well their companies/institutions are performing to offset risks and harness opportunities related to environmental, social and governance indicators.

This progress report was released on 16 June 2022 by the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Oceans and Natural Resources Section, with notable contributions from David Sheppard, the Director of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP); Matthew Goldie-Scot, the Managing Director of the humanitarian strategic consultancy firm Thuso; and, Nina Schoonman, Consultant at Thuso.

In May 2022, Asia Investment Research, a research organisation jointly set up by the investment finance firm China Investment Research and Dezan & Shira Associates, issued a special Economics and Trade feature titled “Bangladesh Trade, Development & Economic...

On 25 June 2022, during the penultimate day of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2022 (CHOGM), at the closing session, the nations of Togo and Gabon were officially inducted into the Commonwealth as the 55th and 56th members of the bloc.

On 8 June 2022, the Commonwealth Secretariat (hereby referred to as ‘the Secretariat’) published a study jointly conducted by the Secretariat’s Economic Adviser on Multilateral Trade, Collin Zhuawu, and Assistant Research Officer, Kimonique Powell.

In May 2022, Asia Investment Research, a research organisation jointly set up by the investment finance firm China Investment Research and Dezan & Shira Associates, issued a special Economics and Trade feature titled “Bangladesh Trade, Development & Economic Prospects in the Emerging Asian-European Supply Chain”

The Commonwealth Secretariat Strategic Plan 2021/22-2024/5 is a collaborative results framework publication drafted by the Commonwealth Secretariat. It is based on the principles of the Commonwealth Charter, the previous Strategic Plan (2017/18-2020/21), notes and recommendations from the Executive Committee and Board of Governors, internal and external documents such as the Forum of Small States, and mandates drafted during the Commonwealth Heads of Government meetings in the past decade.

The world can not recover from the impact of COVID-19 without an effective rules-based trading system that is both inclusive and sustainable. It will require members of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to work in conjunction towards galvanizing multilateral trade to equip the Commonwealth states, as well as the rest of the world should they wish to partake, for any trade issues that may arise.

Undoubtedly, trade is an essential element of sustainable economic development which has alleviated millions of individuals out of poverty worldwide. The importance of global trade to universal prosperity is showcased in the WTO’s membership which, over the 25 years since its establishment in the 1994 Marrakesh Agreement, has increased to 164 members, including 50 Commonwealth states, collectively constituting 96 per cent of global GDP.

The importance of foreign direct investment (FDI) for both intra-and-extra Commonwealth trade cannot be overstated, especially concerning global value chains (GVCs) structure and operations. FDI supports domestic firm participation in global networks of production and provides a channel for them to gain access to international markets partially via facilitating their integration into trans-border supply chains.