May in push for Commonwealth trade
The PM and the Queen will both press for more cooperation and trade on Commonwealth Day ‘The deep partnerships we share can help us strengthen the prosperity and security of our own citizens, and those of our many allies’
THERESA MAY will today urge Commonwealth countries to build “prosperity” by forging closer trading links, after Cabinet ministers emphasised the importance of the 52-nation organisation to Britain’s post-Brexit economy.
Speaking on the first Commonwealth Day since the EU referendum, the Prime Minister will tell leaders of member countries that “as we look to create a truly global Britain” the organisation can use its “deep partnerships” to build a brighter future for its 2.4 billion citizens.
The Queen, meanwhile, will ask member nations to “overcome division ... so that the benefits of progress and prosperity may be multiplied and shared”.
Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, said yesterday that the Commonwealth and the EU were “level pegging” in their Gross Domestic Product, with the Commonwealth growing “far faster”.
He said leaving the EU would enable Britain to “do deals” with Commonwealth countries that until now have been dictated by EU trade agreements.
The Queen and the Prime Minister will attend the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey, during which the objectives of a leaders’ summit taking place next year will be set out. Mrs May will make it clear that she believes the Commonwealth will play an increasingly important role in Britain’s trading future, with trade between member countries projected to be worth £820 billion by 2020.
Mrs May will today meet Joseph Muscat, prime minister of Malta, to discuss preparations for next year’s Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, to be held in London and Windsor.
The Prime Minister will tell him and other leaders that it will be a chance to “re-energise and revitalise the Commonwealth to cement its relevance to this and future generations.
“As we look to create a truly global Britain, the deep partnerships that we share through a 21st-century Commonwealth can help us strengthen the prosperity and security of our own citizens, and those of our many friends and allies across the world.” In her own Commonwealth Day message, printed in the order of service, the Queen will advocate “consensus and cooperation” between member countries.
The Queen will say: “By upholding justice and the rule of law, and by striving for societies that are fair and offer opportunities for all, we overcome division and find reconciliation, so that the benefits of progress and prosperity may be multiplied and shared.
Today, a baton will set out from Buckingham Palace on a 12-month journey visiting each Commonwealth nation in a symbolic gesture.
Carried through the Abbey by 2012 Olympic heptathlon champion Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, it contains a hidden message, which will be unveiled at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Queensland, Australia.