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A relatively new Head of the Commonwealth, a new Secretary-General, and a new Chair-In-Office offers the Commonwealth an opportunity to renew and redefine itself, rising to the unique challenges of the 21st century.

To that end, policymakers should take note of the recently published ‘One Family’ report, published by London-based think-tank Policy Exchange. Authored by Dr Rakib Ehsan, ‘One Family’ examines the current state of the Commonwealth, and explores how the organisation can evolve to remain relevant to its members. The report has already attracted high profile endorsements from figures such as former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and former Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer.

According to a survey conducted as a part of the report, trade remains an area of significant opportunity for the Commonwealth – 63% of UK adults believe that the Commonwealth should encourage the removal or reduction of trade barriers between its members, while 58% believe that the Commonwealth should support members in reducing their economic dependence on large international economies such as the US, EU, and China.

Elsewhere, 59% of Australian respondents said that they believed that deepening ties with the Commonwealth is in their national interest, while 52% of Indians, 58% of Nigerians, and 52% of Malays reported ‘the Commonwealth Advantage’ as the biggest advantage of Commonwealth membership.

According to the report, enhanced trade and investment ties will be crucial to the Commonwealth’s long-term vitality. Dr Ehsan recommends the creation of a new Commonwealth Trade and Investment Commission in order to explore the removal of intra-Commonwealth trade barriers, and the enhancement of ‘triangular’ economic cooperation between member states.

We will breaking the report down further over the coming weeks but find the full report here: https://policyexchange.org.uk/publication/one-family/https://lnkd.in/e3z5h-8u