The Unofficial British Royal Family Pages

12 Nov 1999 - HM The Queen's speech at the opening ceremony of the commonwealth heads of government, Durban

Mr Secretary General, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a great pleasure for me to attend the opening ceremony of this, the 1999 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.

This meeting remains a unique global gathering. The member countries of the Commonwealth assembled here today constitute more than one-quarter of the nations of the earth. They represent one-third of its populations. It is a forum which brings together East and West, North and South. Here the largest in population, in size, or in GDP, and the smallest, the poorest and most vulnerable meet as equals to discuss common problems. The extraordinary diversity of this summit is its unifying factor, and the source of its richness and success.

So it is appropriate that we should be meeting in the "rainbow" nation of South Africa. I should like on behalf of everybody here today to thank President Mbeki and all South Africans for their welcome. It is a pleasure, Mr President, to see you here as our host, and as our friend.

I should also like to pay tribute to another central figure, one for whom, alas, this is his last Heads of Government Meeting - the Commonwealth Secretary General, Emeka Anyauku. You have been a warm, spirited and energetic leader, working tirelessly to build the Commonwealth into an essential part of the international landscape, and always intent to prove to the world that the Commonwealth is a truly international body. As we prepare to bid you farewell next year, may I express our gratitude to you for all that you have achieved. We will miss you; the Commonwealth will never forget you.

You, Mr Secretary General, are quintessentially African - generous, positive and open. I can see why so many are captivated by this vast continent; by its ancient history, stretching back to the dawn of humankind itself; by its bustling energy and colour; and by its dramatic natural beauty and rich wildlife. I have very personal reasons for feeling a special affection for Africa; for it was in Cape Town in 1947, on my 21st birthday, that I committed my life to the service of the Commonwealth; and it was in Kenya that word reached me of the death of my father, and of the responsibilities I then assumed as Queen and as Head of the Commonwealth in 1952.

My life was transformed by those events. The Commonwealth too was at that time sowing the seeds of far-reaching change, in the London Declaration of 1949. That bold and visionary agreement, which had my father's full support, opened the way for newly independent India and Pakistan to join the association as republics and led to the extraordinary growth of the organisation in the decades that followed.

This year marks the Fiftieth Anniversary of that notable milestone for the Commonwealth. In celebrating a half century of challenge and achievement, I am reminded of what makes our association what it is today. Sometimes the ties of history can be confining, drawing people and countries back into past quarrels and injustices and obscuring their future. But in the Commonwealth, the many strands of a shared past have been woven together in a forward-looking spirit of understanding, tolerance and friendship. We are not prisoners of the past, we are reconciled to it. Indeed we build on our history to work together as we face the challenges of the future.

That future is already upon us. In a few weeks' time we will enter a new Millennium. But we have already entered a new world. When the Commonwealth was founded, it took nearly two months for a letter to reach Auckland from Ottawa. Today they can e-mail instantaneously. The next Commonwealth Games in Manchester may be watched live by over a billion people. The proceedings of this Summit are being relayed around the world on the Internet as we meet.

We are already living in a world in which, with the click of a mouse, distances disappear and oceans are crossed. Businesses in Britain now employ computer programmers in Bangalore. Students in South Africa can instantly access academic research in Australia. Families from across the Commonwealth can speak to each other every day. Globalisation is not only transforming our economies. It is changing every aspect of our lives. Opportunities and challenges will bring us closer together; from the benefits of world trade and investment to addressing problems of combating drugs, AIDS, or environmental destruction. Our peoples will be more interdependent that they have ever been before.

The Commonwealth can and should embrace these changes - and extend their benefits to all - not only because they are the future but because the Commonwealth already embodies so many of the characteristics of this twenty-first century world. Modern technology and communications are bringing together a world community of different cultures, but with increasingly common interests and values. The Commonwealth is founded on that principle. Globalisation encompasses diversity - which is something we must foster too. This is also a real strength of the Commonwealth.

Above all this next century will see ever increasing contact between individuals. The Commonwealth too is an association of peoples. That truth is apparent within this summit itself - in the personal friendships, the different backgrounds and experiences and in the various qualities of leadership which you all bring to this meeting, giving it a character all of its own. But it is also manifest in the host of Commonwealth events surrounding the CHOGM - from the NGO (Non-Governmental Organisations) Forum, the Youth Forum and the Business Forum to the bustling Commonwealth Peoples Centre, next to the summit, which I had the pleasure of visiting yesterday.

The Commonwealth is a web of such contacts - it its way our own World Wide Web. Like the Web we bring people together across countries and continents. Like it we have English as our common language and, like its users, this organisation is characterised by its youth - half of all our citizens are under twenty-five.

I believe the Commonwealth is uniquely placed to take advantage of all that these developments can offer. The organisation is need more than ever if we are to resolve the conflicts and grasp the opportunities of the twenty-first century. The challenge before us is not new. It is timeless. Indeed it was so eloquently expressed in the closing words of the London Declaration fifty years ago, when those assembled vowed to "remain united as free and equal members of the Commonwealth of Nations, freely co-operating in the pursuit of peace, liberty and progress".