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Commonwealth

My Lords, the topic chosen by the noble Lord, Lord Freeman, is most welcome and well timed. Last Sunday, I was in Lesotho, so I attended the Armistice Day service in the capital, Maseru. It was a very moving open-air ceremony. Following a two-minute silence, wreaths were laid at the impressive war memorial by their Majesties the King and Queen, the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the mayor of Maseru, the doyen of the diplomatic corps in Lesotho the Libyan ambassador, the High Commissioner for South Africa, the Chinese ambassador, the acting US ambassador, the so-called EU ambassador, and by consular representatives from Ireland, France, the United Nations, the African Union, Germany, the Netherlands and Canada, in that order. One of the many veterans present was the last to lay a wreath. It was touching to see that he had a small Union Jack flag flying from his black beret. There were at least 150 veterans prominently seated near the memorial, some wearing their old uniforms. Some 1,400 hundred Basotho soldiers served in World War I and well over 21,000 in World War II. Following the withdrawal of the UK High Commissioner, surely Her Majesty’s Government should still arrange a formal UK presence at this and similar annual services. I was in Maseru to attend a CPTM dialogue, an annual event that alternates usually between an African country and Malaysia. CPTM— the Commonwealth Partnership for Technology Management—was set up a decade ago by CHOGM. It has a small headquarters, or hub, here in London. Apart from some funding to support the hub, CPTM works on a give and take networking basis, with those who are members drawn from all corners of the world, contributing advice and ideas to others to help them with their activities. Membership is widely drawn, not only from many different countries within the Commonwealth and some beyond the Commonwealth, but also from government, the private sector, labour, academia and the media. This Government gave £60,000 per annum at the start of their Administration, but no longer do so. An uncertain revenue stream for CPTM led to a decision two years ago to seek to raise a sum of around £11 million to provide a permanent home for the CPTM hub and a sufficient annual income to run it. A very commendable sum of around £5.4 million is now in CPTM’s capital account and a further £1 million is pledged—all very creditable. A contribution from Her Majesty’s Government would now be most welcome. At CHOGM 03, the Commonwealth Secretary-General was tasked to consider the roles of CPTM and CBC, the Commonwealth Business Council. He is reporting to CHOGM 05 that CPTM continues to enjoy success and has solid support from those who work with it, including a number of Commonwealth member governments. It has a distinct and positive role to play in the family of Commonwealth organisations and should continue, he says, its important and valued work. What, then, does CPTM do? Let me, in the time available, give just two examples of changes in southern Africa and elsewhere which have had their origins in the process of dialoguing. In 1997, the dialogue was hosted by Botswana. The concept of peace parks—areas which cross national borders and assist in the management of wildlife and the advancement of tourism, for example—was first discussed. This has now blossomed. There are 169 peace parks in 113 countries in Africa and Asia. A 1999 dialogue at Victoria Falls discussed the problems that tourists met when national requirements for visas complicated movement in southern Africa. Wild animals do not observe national boundaries, yet are one of the many exciting reasons for a visit to Africa. A freer regime for immigration control is now in place. Such changes achieve a win-win outcome which is of benefit to all. A driving idea behind the dialogues and the work of CPTM is to seek ways of being fair and benefiting all parties involved. Rather than winner-take-all, it is a prosper-my-neighbour approach. CPTM espouses these ideals in the phrase ““smart partnership””. Although CPTM assists, it falls to the hosting country to draw up the guest list and to make the many arrangements required to run a three or four day dialogue attended by 500 or more people. For Lesotho this year as for many others it is a major challenge requiring a great deal of time and effort. Woven into the formal arrangements are opportunities for attendees to see and appreciate the mix of business, cultural and artistic talents of the hosting nation and its region. All involved deserve great credit for what they achieve. One of many significant features of dialogues is the attendance of heads of state or government and former heads who have been attracted by smart partnership. From Commonwealth countries last week we had the presidents of Namibia and Mozambique; the new Deputy President of South Africa; a number of Commonwealth prime ministers including Prime Minister Badawi from Malaysia; former heads including President Sir Ketumile Masire, President Chissano and Prime Minister Dr Mahathir. All individually and collectively play a very active part, mixing freely with all others at the dialogue. It is a unique opportunity for them to meet, listen and participate in the discussions that form the central part of every dialogue. There is also a so-called Club 29, made up of younger smart partners, who make their own challenging contributions in the dialogue sessions. PFI, which was mentioned by the noble Lord, Lord Freeman, was also discussed last week. Between dialogues, CPTM will assist in work of national interest in a variety of Commonwealth countries. For example, Lesotho’s Vision 2020 was drawn up with help from CPTM members in a number of other countries. President Museveni of Uganda is another very supportive partner. He was not in Maseru, but I met him two weeks ago here at the CPTM hub. He will bring the importance of CPTM to the attention of heads at CHOGM next week in Malta. There is great value in CPTM for developing countries of the Commonwealth. It deserves to be given the essential financial support to keep it going and to allow it to spread its smart partnership message for the good of the Commonwealth.