“Many countries are concerned that globalisation will leave them behind. Our task is to ensure that the benefits of the global economy are shared widely among all our peoples.” This mission statement for the Commonwealth Business Council (CBC), written by the UK’s Prime Minister Tony Blair, highlights the challenges and the objectives of the Commonwealth Business Council.

To tackle the issue of globalisation, CBC organises the Commonwealth Business Forum (CBF) to coincide with every Commonwealth Heads Of Government Meeting (CHOGM). This year’s forum in Malta, specifically known as CBF2005, brings together political and business leaders from across the Common-wealth and beyond to discuss ways in which trade and investment can be carried out for the benefit of all.

For HSBC, which is the biggest bank within the Commonwealth network of countries, CBF2005 is an event that has very significant importance from various perspectives. “Globalisation is an issue which affects everyone. As trade barriers come down and money, goods and services move more freely and easily across the globe, remaining competitive is a challenge for every government. HSBC recognises the concern that people have about globalisation, an issue which frequently features in the national debate here in Malta. As one of the world’s largest financial services companies, HSBC also has an obligation to play a role in ensuring a fair trade system, which will help all the world’s economies to progress. It is this motivation which drove our decision to become the largest sponsor of this year’s Business Forum taking place in Malta,” said HSBC Malta’s chief executive officer Shaun Wallis.

The title for CBF2005, which is taking place from 21 to 24 November, is; The Common-wealth, Europe and the Mediterranean: A Unique Networking Opportunity.” This title fits perfectly with the aims of CBC and also provides a one-off opportunity for Malta to play host to some of the most powerful and influential people in the world’s economy. For CBC, the forum provides an ideal vehicle to further its work on the four main challenges which it has set itself. These challenges fall under the titles: Changing Perceptions, Globalisation, Technology and Skills and The Commonwealth Factor.

“Investment decisions, at the end of the day, are taken by human beings, and perception can play a crucial role in the process. Many commonwealth countries offer good investment opportunities but suffer from popular misconceptions, uneven media coverage and failure to promote their economic strengths to important external audiences. How many people, for example, know that Botswana has maintained one of the world’s highest economic growth rates since it became independent in 1966? It is through finding new opportunities and broadening our horizons that we can continue to succeed and HSBC believes this forum can help Maltese and international business to do just that and therefore help CBC in accomplishing its goal of changing perceptions,” Mr Wallis continued.

Changing perceptions is a critical development in tackling the challenges of globalisation. With the growth of the global economy, national and regional boundaries are losing their relevance. Countries must increasingly take a more global view of opportunities for growth. The CBC, as a microcosm of the wider international economic community, can help countries cope, drawing on its close relationships with business and governments, and its mission to share knowledge and experience.

“The relationships which CBC has built up since its foundation in 1997 are there to help all Commonwealth countries in their efforts to tackle the impact of globalisation. This year’s forum presents a particular opportunity for Malta to make and develop new contacts which could really help move the country’s economy forward. Malta has always been known as a bridge across the Mediterranean. It now has an opportunity to play this role on a much larger scale,” said CBC director-general and chief executive Mohan Kaul.

The Business Forum is not only an opportunity to discuss ideas and to network. It also provides a platform for transferring skills and technology. The application of new technology is a key ingredient of economic success and is more important in the long term than money. But technological advancement can only happen if information access systems are available to those wishing to develop opportunities. Commonwealth co-operation, through the exchange of skills and knowledge, can help overcome that divide and in this respect, Malta, with its high number of IT professionals, can play an important role.

The Commonwealth legacy has equipped member countries with affinities in language, legal systems and administrative procedures and political outlook – the “Commonwealth Factor”. This goes a long way towards ensuring that members are prepared to function individually or as a group in the fast-moving global context. Governments and the private sector have demonstrated that this relatively homogenous trading group is also capable of drawing investment from non-Commonwealth countries, including the United States, Japan, and Europe.

The Commonwealth Business Council assists this process by fostering a good environment for business and investment, promoting good practice in corporate governance and corporate citizenship and facilitating the engagement of the private sector in information communication technology for development initiatives. These are all aims from which Malta can also benefit and which can help guarantee a better future for all Commonwealth citizens.

“An unfair world trading system has a negative effect on everyone. The lack of a level playing field is keeping many developing countries in poverty and forcing millions to leave their homes in search of a better future, mainly in Europe. The Business Forum presents Malta with an opportunity to influence the debate of world trade and in so doing, it can also help the Commonwealth Business Council obtain its main objective of helping developing countries and their private sector attain a standard that enables them to play a proper role in globalisation,” said Mr Wallis.

“A fairer system of trade would benefit us all, and HSBC will continue to work towards this goal in what-ever way that it can,” he

concluded.