Accra, Sept 18, GNA - Commonwealth Foreign Ministers would be meeting in New York on Thursday, 23 September 2004 to discuss political, small states and trade issues.

A statement by the Communications and Public Affairs Division of the Commonwealth Secretariat in London received in Accra on Friday, said the third annual round-table of the Foreign Ministers would also discuss preparations for the forthcoming global summit on sustainable development on small states to be held in Mauritius. It said the Ministers would also hold discussions on world trade prospects following the recent framework agreement to reinvigorate the Doha Development Agenda trade negotiations at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

The statement said progress towards the next biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), to be held in Malta in November 2005, would also feature on the agenda. It said Mr Julian Hunte, the Foreign Minister of St Lucia and the outgoing President of the United Nations General Assembly, would address the meeting.

The statement, added that, the Foreign Ministers' meeting would be followed, on the same day, by meetings of the Commonwealth Ministerial Committee on Belize and the Commonwealth Ministerial Group on Guyana, which would receive reports from the Foreign Ministers of the countries. It said the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on the Harare Declaration would meet on Saturday 25 September to review the situation in Pakistan and other issues.