November 29, 2009 11:36 AM

Commonwealth Accepts Rwanda's Membership Bid

From Abdul Muin Abdul Majid

From Abdul Muin Abdul Majid PORT OF SPAIN (Trinidad and Tobago), Nov 29 (Bernama) -- Commonwealth leaders gathered here for their biennial summit have agreed to accept Rwanda's application to join the grouping.

Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said they okayed Rwanda's Commonwealth membership bid after ascertaining that the country had fulfilled the required criteria.

"It was boosted by its commitment towards democracy as well as the values espoused by the Commonwealth," he told Malaysian journalists at the end of the second day of the three-day Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2009 here Saturday.

It was opened by England's Queen Elizabeth II on Friday.

Landlocked Rwanda, ravaged by genocide in the 1990s, conveyed its interest in joining the Commonwealth in January 2008.

"The Commonwealth leaders also took into account Rwanda's ongoing rehabilitation process. They felt that it would be appropriate to welcome Rwanda into the Commonwealth fold," Najib said.

The last two admissions were Cameroon and Mozambique in 1995. Only parts of Cameroon had been under British control, while Mozambique was never under British rule.

Najib said Commonwealth leaders also agreed that Australia would host CHOGM 2011 while the 2013 and 2015 editions would be held in Sri Lanka and Mauritius respectively.

-- BERNAMA

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