LONDON, March 9, 2019 — At this time when multilateralism is under threat, and we see nationalism and narrow self-interest on the rise, the Commonwealth shines as a beacon of hope and promise, inspiring confidence in the benefits of international co-operation and collective action. An understanding of how as countries, as communities and as individuals we are mutually dependent and mutually supporting lies at the heart of all that the Commonwealth brings to our world.
In 1949 our founding eight nations came together to declare that they would “remain united as free and equal members of the Commonwealth of Nations, freely co-operating in the pursuit of peace, liberty and progress”. In the seventy years since that London Declaration, which brought into being the Commonwealth we know today, many more nations have grown to maturity.
As independence has been achieved and celebrated, awareness of our interdependence has also grown, and it is by recognising and building on this that we continue to flourish and develop as ‘A Connected Commonwealth’. http://thecommonwealth.org/media/news/commonwealth-day-message-secretary-general
