DEMOCRACY AND DEVELOPMENT: TWIN ENGINES OF PROGRESS

A key challenge of the 2003 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, from 5-8 December, is understanding how democratic values and practices can be harnessed to help communities achieve more growth, develop better health and education systems, and increase their living standards, writes Don McKinnon, Commonwealth Secretary-General since April 2000. In this article the author writes that one important way of achieving progress in both democracy and development is through consensus-building. The process of global dialogue on which the Commonwealth is based allows leaders to develop joint approaches to problems of common concern. We use the power of consensus in the area of trade and economic development. Because it embraces such a great diversity of states -- large and small, rich and poor, island and land-locked -- the Commonwealth is strategically placed to ensure that the voices of its smaller and developing members are not ignored. The greatest obstacle to effective consensus-building is often the lack of common ground. Here lies the Commonwealth advantage: our nations are not only united by self-interest; they also share common values, similar political, judicial and administrative structures, a common language and a similar business culture.