Malta 'has a lot to gain'

Malta has a lot to gain from the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in terms of tourism and business links, according to a senior diplomat from the country that hosted CHOGM two years ago.

Nigeria High Commissioner to Malta Mohammed Kawu Ibrahim, who is based in Tripoli, was in Malta last week to assess the preparations for CHOGM and offer advice in the light of his country's experience two years ago.

CHOGM shall be held in Malta between November 25 and 27, though there will be a number of other Commonwealth events in the run-up to the main meeting which will involve 53 heads of state and of government.

Mr Ibrahim said in an interview: "The Commonwealth is not just CHOGM but there are lots of other things. For example, the Commonwealth Business Forum provided the opportunity for businessmen from all over the world to come to Nigeria. It was an opportunity for Nigerians to meet their counterparts. This isn't an opportunity you get on the internet. It is better when you see people and discuss issues face to face".

He said he had been highly impressed by a Maltese company which offers high tech security and is keen for businessmen from Nigeria to make use of it.

Mr Ibrahim described the benefits for Nigeria from CHOGM as enormous. "If you look at our recent political history, we've had a lot of political crises and were suspended from the Commonwealth so it was an honour and privilege to host CHOGM and to show gratitude for the assistance given to us by the Commonwealth to bring about democracy and good governance. We have now come back to the family."

He is adamant that the Commonwealth was a driving force when it came to Nigeria adopting democratic principles to replace its former regime and believes the suspension of his country was justified. "We came back with a democracy, we have a government that is elected freely on the principles of the rule of law, good governance... The Harare principles are cardinal principles which every member of the Commonwealth should observe and we must admit that there was a violation when we were suspended."

Mr Ibrahim said it was quite normal for disputes to crop up in every "family" and he firmly believes the Commonwealth discusses relevant issues. "The Commonwealth these days discusses a lot of economic, political and social issues - such as HIV Aids, education, good governance, debt and you can see the role being played by the British Prime Minister.

This is also within the programme of the Commonwealth. So the benefits are enormous." He also argued the compacted version of the Malta meeting, which will be held over two days rather than the traditional five, reduces the cost of hosting such a meeting and that made it more feasible for other countries to host them in future. "All international organisations try to make the maximum use of time. Even in the UN 20 years ago, they were given unlimited time to talk. Then it was reduced to 30 minutes, 20 minutes and now you only have seven minutes."

However Mr Ibrahim cautioned that CHOGM was a very big meeting that needed a lot of preparation.

"If you leave things till the last minute, you will have more problems. At the airport, you might have three or four heads of state arriving at the same time. It's a big nightmare. You can never take care of everything but advance preparations help.

"I have no doubt that Malta is equipped to handle it. You have the infrastructure and this is a country that has experience in tourism so it is not something entirely new. But this is the first time 53 countries will be coming for a meeting in Malta and there are other meetings besides before CHOGM. So you are expecting thousands."

He could not specify how much 2003's CHOGM had cost Nigeria, merely saying "it cost a lot". But, he added: "In our case we had to build new structures. It was a long term investment for us but for you the benefit will be greater because you depend on tourism and you will be receiving people at a time when the tourism industry is at a low ebb. Not only that, some of them will stay behind for a holiday".

Mr Ibrahim also stressed the role of the Commonwealth Secretariat in organising CHOGM. "The Commonwealth Secretariat makes sure that certain basic standards are maintained. Security is very important and I am impressed by the importance the Maltese authorities are giving it. I don't see any problems," he said.