This paper presents fiscal policy options for resilient and sustainable development in the context of ever-increasing and diverse shocks and uncertainties, discussing how the appropriate design and mix of national and subnational tax and public investment regimes can best ensure the stable provision of essential services and local infrastructure.
Read publication -
Fiscal Policy Options for Resilient and Sustainable Development
Main page for this area of work
As countries recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, and face the compounding challenges of global inflation, debt, climate change and sociopolitical scenarios, there is a need to explore new investment strategies to accelerate economic development, build resilience and balance competing environmental, economic and social pressures. In this context, the concept of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) as a framework for sustainable growth has gained new relevance. This paper discusses the potential benefits of ESG in terms of enabling sustainable economic growth in the Commonwealth, including possible technical assistance, capacity building and policy development on ESG for public debt management and improved public sector sustainability, including collaboration with International Financial Institutions financing standards.
Read publication -
Environmental, Social and Governance Practices for Value Creation in the Commonwealth
This week, the Commonwealth Secretariat’s International Trade Policy team in partnership with The UK Department for Business and Trade held an event to reflect on the legacy of the Commonwealth Games and how businesses can continue to build on the relationships forged throughout the Games and the trade and investment opportunities available for businesses.
Read news -
Assessing the trade gains from the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games
On International Women’s Day, the Commonwealth Secretariat and the International Trade Centre (ITC) jointly hosted a discussion on ‘Bridging the digital gap for women-led businesses in developing economies’.
Read news -
Commonwealth and ITC work to bridge the digital gap for female entrepreneurs in the developing world
8 March 2023 to 8 March 2023
Event
The Commonwealth Secretariat and the International Trade Centre will host an event on 8 March in New York City at 11:30 am EST on bridging the digital gap for women-led businesses in developing countries.
Senior officials from Eastern and Southern Africa have received hands-on training to manage their public debt using the Commonwealth’s new debt management system.
Read news -
African countries trained to manage public debt using new Commonwealth system
Work by the Commonwealth Secretariat to support Fiji’s Reserve Bank in digitising its paper-based certificates of securities, such as government bonds, will benefit investors, making it easier for them to own, safekeep and trade in the country’s financial market, valued at about $6 billion.
Read news -
Commonwealth support for new digital securities will benefit investors in Fiji
The Commonwealth Secretary-General the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC has pledged Commonwealth support to help Kenya realise its ambitious innovation goals.
Read news -
Commonwealth Secretary General pledges support for Kenya’s innovation ambitions
A workshop, hosted by the Commonwealth Secretariat and the International Institute for investment Treaties, has trained Cameroonian government officials to attract foreign capital by better negotiating investment agreements.
Read news -
Commonwealth trains Cameroonian officials to attract inward investment
Today Commonwealth Finance Ministers met on the margins of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings in Washington DC for the Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting 2022 (CFMM) to address emerging economic issues facing the global economy and Commonwealth countries.
Read news -
Commonwealth Finance Ministers call for fiscal support measures to help tame rising inflation
More than 40 government officials and civil society representatives in Belize have completed the first segment of a three-part climate change proposal ‘writeshop’.
Read news -
Commonwealth Climate Finance Access Hub supports Belizeans to gain skills in mobilising funds
At their annual meeting held today in Washington DC, Commonwealth Central Bank Governors came together to discuss strategies to best work together to tackle inflation at a time when the global economy is facing excessive inflationary pressures driven by geopolitical tensions, coupled with the disruption in supply chain.
Read news -
Commonwealth Central Banks Governors explore effective strategies for tackling inflation
A blog by: Akeem Rahaman, Economic Advisor, Sophie Brain, Research Officer, and James Gregory, Research Officer work in the Economic Policy and Small States Directorate of the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Read news -
Driving FinTech Innovation in Commonwealth Countries
11 October 2022 to 12 October 2022
Conference
Finance ministers will meet in person for the Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting (CFMM) on 12 October 2022 and the Commonwealth Central Bank Governors (CCBG) meeting on 11 October in Washington D.C.
Pamella McLaren, the Advisor and Head of the Debt Management of the Commonwealth Meridian Secretariat, has challenged 35 debt managers of the sub-region to utilize the use of the “Commonwealth Meridian” system for financial debt data collection, reporting, and monitoring within member countries.
Read news -
Liberia: “Use Commonwealth Meridian to Manage Debt Portfolio”
28 July 2022 to 28 July 2022
Webinar
Organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat, Enhanced Integrated Framework and the World Economic Forum, the thematic focus of the session is on solutions to build capacity for developing countries to engage fully and effectively in digital trade. This aligns most closely with the Global Review’s themes of “connectivity and empowerment” and “future priorities”.
27 July 2022 to 27 July 2022
Webinar
Organised by the Commonwealth Small States Office in Geneva, the session will focus on pragmatic ways to address the connectivity constraints limiting the participation of small economies in global trade. This aligns most closely with the Global Review’s theme of “connectivity and empowerment”.
By Brendan Vickers, Head, International Trade Policy Section; Salamat Ali, Economic Adviser, Trade Economist and Neil Balchin, Economic Adviser, Trade Policy Analysis, The Commonwealth Secretariat, London.
Read news -
Blog: Tackling food insecurity in Commonwealth small states in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war
The Commonwealth Secretariat’s Debt Management Unit (DMU) in collaboration with the Development Bank of Jamaica Limited delivered a workshop and forum for Caribbean Public Debt Managers in Jamaica.
Read news -
The Commonwealth Secretariat and the Development Bank of Jamaica Partnered on PPP Workshop and Forum
This week the Commonwealth Secretariat held a four-day workshop in the Maldives for grassroots female entrepreneurs to help them leverage digital infrastructure opportunities for E-Commerce and Digital Marketing.
Read news -
Commonwealth empowers women entrepreneurs in the Maldives to do business through e-commerce
Last week the Commonwealth Secretariat held a three-day workshop in Nepal for grassroots female entrepreneurs to help them leverage digital infrastructure opportunities for E-Commerce and Digital Marketing.
Read news -
Commonwealth supports female entrepreneurs in Asia to leverage e-commerce opportunities
The Commonwealth Secretariat is offering a host of new e-learning courses on its public debt management system, Commonwealth Meridian, first launched in 2019.
Read news -
Commonwealth Secretariat launches debt management e-learning courses
Blog by Neil Balchin, Economic Adviser, International Trade Policy Section
Read news -
Blog: Achieving growth with structural change in LDCs: Priorities for the Doha Programme of Action
31 March 2022 to 31 March 2022
Webinar
The Commonwealth Secretariat is hosting its fifth webinar in the Data, Technology and Digitalisation series on 31 March with leading industry experts across the Commonwealth.
Last month, the Commonwealth Trade Competitiveness team together with the Gambia’s Ministry of Trade and the Gambia Investment and Export Promotion Agency (GiEPA) held a two-day exporters’ stakeholder forum aimed at identifying the most efficient ways to ensure the successful implementation of the Gambia’s National Export Strategy (NES) for 2021-2025.
Read news -
Commonwealth helps The Gambia implement National Export Strategy