New Delhi, December 2
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee will leave for Nigeria on December 4 to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). However, he has cancelled his scheduled visit to Ghana which was originally proposed to be the second leg of his foreign tour.
Mr Vajpayee has cancelled the Ghana leg of his tour as he wanted “to concentrate more on Parliamentary work” here, new Foreign Secretary Shashank said today.
The special theme of CHOGM — 2003 is “Democracy and Development: Partnership of Peace and Prosperity”.
Wide-ranging issues, including the current political and economic scenario and the activities of the Commonwealth since the previous CHOGM in Coolum, Australia, are likely to come up for discussion during the meeting.
On India’s role in the Commonwealth, Mr Shashank said it had a special place in the organisation as its largest member and fourth largest financial contributor. India has consistently played a constructive and substantive role in the various CHOGMs.
It hosted the CHOGM in New Delhi in 1983 and now its successful bid to host the 2010 Commonwealth Games was “a reflection” of the growing importance of India in the Commonwealth, he said.
