On Wednesday 15 March, the Acting British High Commissioner, Andrew Dalgleish, met with Pakistani Commonwealth Games medal winners: Arshad Nadeem, Muhammad Inam Butt, Zaman Anwar and Muhammad Sharif Tahir in Lahore to celebrate the UK and Pakistan’s shared relationship through the Commonwealth.
This coincides with a week of Commonwealth events which started on Monday 13 March with ‘Commonwealth Day’, with King Charles III leading a multi-faith service at Westminster Abby in London. Also on the 15 March, the 22nd Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting took place in London, with a focus on enhancing the resilience of Commonwealth countries in times of crisis, and was attended by Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.
2023 is an important year for the Commonwealth. Not only will it mark the 10th anniversary of the Commonwealth Charter, which sets out the values that unite this family of nations: democracy, peace and security, the rule of law, sustainability and equality. It will also include the Coronation of King Charles III, as the New Head of the Commonwealth on 6 May.
During his meeting with the Commonwealth Games medals winners, Andrew Dalgleish discussed with them their experiences at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games, what the Commonwealth means to them, Commonwealth youth engagement and their future plans for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Australia.
The Acting British High Commissioner said the following:
“Celebrating our shared Commonwealth connections with medal winners from the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games has been an absolute pleasure. The Commonwealth is this year focused on youth engagement. It not only offers young people avenues of development through sport, it is also investing in harnessing their strengths to deepen trade and investment partnerships, respond to the global threat of climate change and champion democratic values. The Commonwealth’s offer to young Pakistanis is a strong one.”
ENDS
Notes to Editor:
· The Acting British High Commissioner met with:
1) Arshad Nadeem, a Pakistani javelin thrower who won a Gold medal at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth games. He created a new national and Commonwealth Games record with a throw of 90.18m and became the first ever athlete from South Asia to breach the 90m mark.
2) Muhammad Inam Butt, a professional wrestler from Gujranwala. Inam won silver medal for Pakistan in 2022 Commonwealth Games. He had also won gold medals at the 2010 and 2018 Commonwealth Games.
3) Zaman Anwar, a Pakistani professional wrestler. He won a silver medal for Pakistan in 2022 Commonwealth Games and gold at the 2016 South Asian Games. He also participated at the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
4) Muhammad Sharif Tahir, a 20 years old Pakistani wrestler. He competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, winning a silver medal in the men’s freestyle 74 kg event.
· The modern Commonwealth is a free association of 56 equal and independent member states. Bringing together a third of the world’s population, the Commonwealth is a global network of 2.5 billion people across five geographic regions. The Commonwealth is a dynamic, vibrant and expanding alliance of nations, united behind values of democracy, human rights and sovereignty, an example of advancing freedom around the world.
· In an increasingly geopolitical world, where sovereignty is being challenged, the Commonwealth is a vital illustration of self-determination and a network of prospering free nations. Its consensus approach means every member has an equal and influential voice.
· The UK remains steadfastly committed to the Commonwealth, which has a shared commitment to freedom, peace and prosperity at its core.
· The UK is committed to further increasing the level of intra-Commonwealth trade and investment. There is already a strong “Commonwealth advantage” to membership (a 21% reduction in average trading costs between members) based on shared language, culture and similarity of legal systems and institutions.
· 2023 is Commonwealth Year of Youth. Home to over 1.4 billion people under the age of 30, young people have enormous potential to shape the Commonwealth’s future. The UK Government continues to support pan-Commonwealth programmes that empower and engage young people. For example, supporting Commonwealth member countries in mainstreaming youth in national and regional policies, contributing over £1million in 2021/22 to the Commonwealth Youth Programme.
· Many of the UK’s current development initiatives in Pakistan were committed to at Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings. This is especially true of commitments on education – which has resulted in the UK spending over £900m on education development in Pakistan over the last 10 years – directly allowing 5.8m children gain a decent education – 2.1m of them being girls.
