Sri Lanka was unanimously elected as the Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Commonwealth Secretariat at the recent meetings (11-13 May 2010) of the Board of Governors held in London.

Election to this Chairmanship is timely and important in the context of Sri Lanka hosting the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in 2013, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

The Board of Governors of the Commonwealth Secretariat is the highest tier of the governing structure of the Secretariat and comprises representatives from all 54 Commonwealth member countries. It is the principle policy implementing body of the Commonwealth and is responsible for providing strategic direction on major policy issues; review implementation of CHOGM mandates; approve 4-year Strategic Plans of the Commonwealth including its work programmes and budgetary allocations; consider and approve the Secretariat’s audit and evaluation plans and receive reports from the Commonwealth Foundation and the Commonwealth of Learning. The Board is now also responsible for the governance of the Commonwealth Youth Programme.

The Commonwealth comprises 54 member states from Asia, Africa, the Americas, the Caribbean, Europe and the South Pacific that support each other and work together towards shared goals in democracy and development.

Sri Lanka joined the Commonwealth in 1949 and is one of the six founding members of the modern Commonwealth. Since then Sri Lanka has been actively involved in the work of the Commonwealth and has hosted a number of meetings including the 7th Commonwealth Youth Affairs Ministers Meeting (2008) and the Commonwealth Finance Ministers Meeting (2006).