FROM COMMONWEALTH: HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING (CHOGM) IN HAMBANTOTA, SRI LANKA

Queen Elizabeth II to miss CHOGM  for the first time

For the first time in 40 years, Queen Elizabeth II will skip this year’s Commonwealth summit in Colombo, Sri Lanka and instead her son Prince Charles will attend the biennial event.  This will be the first time since 1973, the 87-year-old Queen to miss the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) due to long-haul travel.

"The Queen will be represented at this year's Commonwealth heads of government meeting (CHOGM) by the Prince of Wales," her Buckingham Palace residence said in a brief statement.  "We are reviewing the amount of long-haul travel that is taken by the Queen."

The statement added that the decision was unrelated to the controversy over Sri Lanka's human rights record, which has prompted Canada to threaten to boycott the meeting.

Tanzania, Sri Lanka Foreign Ministers meet

Hon. Prof. G.L. Peiris, Sri Lanka Minister for External Affairs welcomes his counterpart Hon. Bernard K. Membe (MP), Tanzania Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Affairs during their meeting today at Hilton Colombo Hotel in Sri Lanka. 

 Hon. Minister Membe (left) thanks the Sri Lanka Minister for External Affairs for his country's hospitality and to congratulate Sri Lanka for hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) 2013. 

The Meeting continues. 

Tanzania delegation was represented by Ambassador Peter Kallaghe (left), High Commissioner of the United Republic of Tanzania in London with accreditation to the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and the Commonwealth and Ambassador Mbelwa Kairuki (2nd left), Director of the Department of Asia and Australasia in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation.  

The Sri Lanka delegation was represented by Mrs. Aruni Ranaraja (2nd right), Acting Director General of Africa Affairs in the Ministry of External Affairs and Mrs. Sithara Khan (right), Acting Additional Secretary for Public Relations in the Ministry of External Affairs. 

The two Ministers in a tête-à-tête meeting.

Flags representing Commonwealth member countries. 

President Mahinda Rajapaksa of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka gives his opening remarks during the Commonwealth Youth Forum 2013 Opening Ceremony.  The Commonwealth Youth Forum 2013 runs from 10th through 14th November 2013 in Hambantota, Sri Lanka.  

The Commonwealth Secretary-General presents opening remarks at the Commonwealth Youth Forum 2013 Opening Ceremony, Hambantota, Sri Lanka.  

Commonwealth Youth Forum 2013 Opening Ceremony, Hambantota Sri Lanka 

Some entertainment.

Commonwealth Youth Forum 2013 Opening Ceremony, Hambantota, Sri Lanka 

Commonwealth Youth Forum 2013 Opening Ceremony, Hambantota, Sri Lanka. 

Some members of audience during the Commonwealth Youth Forum 2013 Opening Ceremony. 

From left to right: Layne Robinson of the Commonwealth Secretariat Youth Affairs Division; Commonwealth Youth Worker Award Pacific Regional Winner Joanne Dorres; Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General Mmasekgoa Masire-Mwamba; Africa Regional Winner Nelly Shella Tchaptcheut Yonga; Asia Regional Winner Priyadharshanie Ariyaratne; Caribbean Regional Winner Alex Foster; and Katherine Ellis, Director of the Commonwealth Secretariat Youth Affairs Division.

Group photo of President Mahinda Rajapaksa of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka together with the Commonwealth Secretariat during the Commonwealth Youth Forum 2013 Opening Ceremony that was held on 10th November 2013 in Hambantota, Sri Lanka. All photos courtesy of the Commonwealth Secretariat.