Commonwealth Business Forum Kicks Off In Kigali

Posted by Eric Ojo African News, Business News, East/Central Africa, Latest Headlines Monday, June 20th, 2022

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The year’s edition of Commonwealth Business Forum (CBF) which is part of the 26th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), kicks off today in Kigali, Rwanda.

The 2022 CBF will be the first and largest in-person gathering for Governments and Business across the Commonwealth since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is the first CBF held in Africa since 2007 and the first outside Europe since 2013. The 2020 meeting was canceled owing to the Covid-19 pandemic. The official opening of the Heads of Government Meeting will take place on Friday, 24 June.

The Forum which will be rounded off on June 25, offer participants opportunities for one-to-one meetings, an exhibition space, and networking. It will also feature think-tank sessions to support the Government of Rwanda as it assumes the Chair of the Commonwealth.

Notably, this year’s event has been designed to provide different ways to create meaningful connections, exchange knowledge, contribute to impactful dialogue and consume information.

Hosted as a partnership between the Government of Rwanda and Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council (CWEIC) the forum will address the CHOGM theme

“Delivering a Common Future: Connecting, Innovating, Transforming”, with a focus on ‘A Global Reset’, dealing with the impact of the pandemic and the Commonwealth’s role in rebuilding and reinvigorating the global economy.

President of the Republic of Rwanda and Incoming Chair of Commonwealth, Paul Kagame said 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”, he said.

African Development Bank Group President, Akinwumi Adesina will join President Kagame and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Boris Johnson, and others at the Forum.

President Adesina will participate in a fireside chat around the 2022 Commonwealth meetings’ theme. He will also deliver a keynote address during the forum’s opening plenary on Tuesday.

The plenary will feature a panel discussion to explore ways to leverage the Commonwealth to catalyze a global economic recovery.

The bank chief will also take part in a roundtable for Heads of Government and Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) on Thursday.

Other eminent dignitaries expected to join him include, the Managing Director and Vice President of International Finance Corporation (IFC), Makhtar Diop; Non-executive Chairman, Fortescue Metals Group & Chairman and Co-Founder, Minderoo Foundation, Andrew Forrest and the Managing Director of Microsoft for Startups, United Kingdom (UK), Amali Chivanthi de Alwis.

Managing Partner of Southbridge and former president of the African Development Bank, Donald Kaberuka, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Vera Songwe will be among the panelists at the Forum.