CBC: …the main focus at this summit was trade partnerships: specifically the association’s ambition to lower trade barriers and double trade between member countries by the time they meet for their next biennial summit.
That dovetails perfectly with the Carney government’s attempt to pivot away from the U.S.
“I think people don’t realize the economic clout of the Commonwealth. There’s almost a trillion dollars of trade,” said Arif Lalani, a former diplomat who served as a senior official the last time a Canadian prime minister attended the Commonwealth summit, in 2022.
“There are studies which show that it’s cheaper to do business between Commonwealth countries because we have the same practices, same language, generally the same set of regulations. So it’s definitely a place to pursue the economic diversification agenda,” Lalani said…