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CREATING A MORE PROSPEROUS COMMONWEALTH IN BUSINESS


CREATING A MORE PROSPEROUS COMMONWEALTH IN BUSINESS


Report from the Commonwealth Business Forum


Lord Jonathan Marland is the Chairman of the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council. His various roles have included Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy; Chairman of Business Ambassador Network; Minister for Energy & Climate Change and later for Business. He founded Jardine Lloyd Thompson plc, a multinational insurance business and is Chairman of Tickets for Troops and President of The Commonwealth Youth Orchestra and Choir amongst many other roles.


The Commonwealth Business Forum concluded with a call to double intra- Commonwealth trade to US$1 trillion before 2020 and for Commonwealth Governments to support the development of a Commonwealth Green Finance Facility that will encourage private sector investment into projects that help implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and address the impacts of Climate Change. The Global Goals Commonwealth Sustainable Business Challenge was also launched to encourage businesses to engage with and contribute towards the SDGs. This was the first Business Forum to be organised by the Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC). Established in July 2014, with the intention of creating an organisation that was better able to deliver on the economic potential of the Commonwealth by adopting a clear agenda for “Creating a More Prosperous Commonwealth” with a strong culture of delivery for both member countries and Commonwealth businesses. The Commonwealth Business Forum was a clear manifestation of our intent in this regard.


The Business Forum was addressed by 15 Heads of Government, 180 Government and private sector leaders and attended by more than 1,300 delegates from 75 countries. HRH The Prince of Wales also addressed the Business Forum ahead of the Paris COP21. The Business Forum


46 | The Parliamentarian | 2016: Issue One


continues to be a growing feature of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, reflecting the clear priorities of Commonwealth member countries of trade, investment, growth, employment and private sector led development. The Business Forum identified a number of areas where the Commonwealth can increase trade and investment, and ‘Add Global Value’ across our six priority themes of financial services, technology, infrastructure, healthcare, tourism and sustainability and launched five new initiatives to increase Commonwealth trade and investment.


The Commonwealth and the Global Economy The purpose of the Commonwealth Business Forum is not to forecast or make predictions about future economic performance, but it is clear that the global economy faces considerable macro- economic challenges from the worsening global security situation, the growing threat of extremism, unprecedented migration and climate change. The CWIEC welcomed the focus on these interrelated issues by the Heads of Government and believe that they are all areas in which the Commonwealth can play a significant role. The role of Commonwealth Parliamentarians in this endeavour will be essential. The private sector stands ready to assist. Improved economic performance, prosperity,


entrepreneurship and employment


opportunities will be a vital part of any solution to these challenges. Despite the difficult economic conditions Commonwealth countries continue to perform better than the global average, reflecting the advantages underpinned by the Commonwealth values of democracy, human rights and the rule of law, as well as shared legal systems and the English Language. However, stagnating global trade, increasing dependence on the performance of the Chinese economy and the collapse in commodity prices are substantial risks to many Commonwealth countries, with a number facing increasingly unsustainable debt burdens. Sound economic governance and strategies for economic growth have never been more important and the Commonwealth Business Forum called for enhanced public private sector dialogue in all member countries to ensure continued economic prosperity and a focus on facilitating trade by improving the business environment in member countries – not least by tackling the pervasive challenge of corruption.


The Business Forum


welcomed the finding that trade costs are on average 19% lower between Commonwealth countries. There is significant opportunity to increase intra-Commonwealth trade and investment and current calculations predict that US$502bn intra Commonwealth trade gains could be achieved if all Commonwealth countries were


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