Tonga's Prime Minister, Dr Feleti Sevele and 10 other Commonwealth leaders met in London yesterday, June 9 to discuss the reform of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the United Nations.

The two-days meeting focused on practical steps which Commonwealth member states can take to achieve reform and coherence of global institutions. Its three-part focus will be on the international financial institutions, global environmental governance, and the UN system.

The Commonwealth Secretariat stated that the Commonwealth leaders meeting is the first step in implementing the decision of the November 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, at which leaders decided to establish a small representative group from their 53-member association to undertake lobbying and advocacy for the reform of international institutions.

"There is a need for change, and that change must reflect the full global spectrum of interests and needs. International institutions must support an inclusive and comprehensive globalisation, which benefits the entire global community," said the Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma.

"We have to reform our global financial institutions. It is absolutely clear that the national supervision that we have is inadequate and we need a global agreement," said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who chairs the mini-summit.

The meeting is attended by President Bharrat Jagdeo of Guyana, President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom of Maldives, Prime Minister Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam of Mauritius, President Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka, President Jakaya Kikwete of Tanzania, Prime Minister Dr Feleti Sevele of Tonga, Prime Minister Patrick Manning of Trinidad and Tobago, President Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak of Malaysia and Vice President Alhaji Aliu Mahama of Ghana, and chaired by Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the United Kingdom.