ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Thursday met Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland in London and discussed “shared priorities” ahead of the 2024 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting scheduled to be held from October 21-25 in Apia, the capital and only city of the island nation of Samoa.
Dar, who is also the foreign minister of Pakistan, began a five-day visit to the UK on Wednesday with a meeting with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in London. During his trip, Dar is also scheduled to engage with other UK officials and parliamentarians as well as representatives of the British-Pakistani community.
Pakistan and the UK, which is home to a large Pakistani diaspora, have trade, defense and education ties, among engagement in other areas.
“Great pleasure to reconnect with Secretary-General Patricia Scotland at the Commonwealth Secretariat today,” Dar said in a post on social media site X. “I reiterated that Pakistan attaches high importance to the Commonwealth as an important forum for promoting peace and development.”
He said the two leaders also discussed “shared priorities” for CHOGM 2024. Scotland was last in Pakistan on a five-day visit in July and August.
The theme for this year’s CHOGM is “One Resilient Common Future: Transforming our Common Wealth” with the aim to strengthen “resilient democratic institutions upholding human rights, democracy, and the rule of law” as well as combatting climate change.
The meeting will be the first full Commonwealth summit held since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022 and the first presided over by King Charles III as Head of the Commonwealth. It will also be the first Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting held in a Pacific Small Island Developing State.
According to former Jamaican prime minister PJ Patterson, reparations for slavery is one of the agenda items to be discussed at the summit.
There will be an election for a new Commonwealth Secretary-General as Scotland indicated in 2022 that she would only serve for two more years. Ghanian foreign minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Gambian foreign minister Mamadou Tangara, and Senator Joshua Septiba of Lesotho have announced their candidacies for the position.
On Wednesday, in his meeting with Lammy, Pakistan’s Dar said he looked forward to working with the British official on “tackling climate change, creating opportunities for young people, and boosting trade and investment.”
“He reiterated Pakistan’s desire for transforming the close, historic ties into an enhanced strategic partnership,” a statement from Dar’s office said.
This is Dar’s first official visit to the UK since the election of the Labour government of UK PM Keir Starmer, who assumed office in July.
