Four days of intensive multilateral negotiations in London concluded with a landmark milestone for the 2026 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), as senior diplomats and Commonwealth leadership have widely hailed the skilled chairmanship of Antigua and Barbuda’s Foreign Affairs, Trade and Immigration Minister E.P. Chet Greene, who also leads the CHOGM 2026 Task Force.
Scheduled to run from November 1 to 4, 2026, the 28th CHOGM will be hosted by the Caribbean island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, bringing together heads of government from all 56 Commonwealth member states to align collective policy priorities and advance shared action. The Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) that gathered in London serves as a critical early step in the summit’s organizing process, bringing together delegations from every member nation to finalize core outcome document text and set the official meeting agenda.
At the heart of the PrepCom’s work was the negotiation of the meeting’s foundational communiqué. This draft document acts as the starting point for all summit deliberations, allowing member states to refine proposed policy language, align overlapping priorities, and map out the overall policy trajectory for the 2026 gathering. It provides the framework for member governments to build consensus on shared commitments to address transnational issues of mutual concern, with the end goal of producing a final communiqué that reflects the unified voice, core values, and collective priorities of the entire Commonwealth bloc.
Over four days of in-depth, solution-focused discussions, delegations worked through a full slate of key Commonwealth priority areas, ultimately reaching agreement to adopt the Final Draft Communiqué. The successful adoption marks a major milestone in the entire CHOGM 2026 preparatory process, underscoring the widespread commitment across member states to building consensus on the core themes and outcomes that will guide head-of-government deliberations when the summit kicks off in Antigua and Barbuda.
Both the Commonwealth Secretariat and representatives from across member states have issued public commendation for Greene’s steady, inclusive, and results-oriented leadership throughout the negotiations. Officials noted that his balanced approach kept dialogue constructive across all sessions, encouraged flexibility from competing delegations, and steered talks toward a fair, inclusive outcome rooted in collective consensus rather than division.
In response to the praise, Greene extended his own commendation to all participating delegations for the spirit of cross-border cooperation, mutual respect, and constructive diplomacy they brought to the negotiating table throughout the four-day process.
The finalized draft communiqué will now move through formal Commonwealth procedural steps ahead of the 2026 summit, which will bring heads of government together under the official theme “Accelerating Partnerships and Investment for a Prosperous Commonwealth.”
Beyond the core PrepCom negotiations, Greene maintained a full schedule of complementary official engagements during his time in London. He hosted a dedicated roundtable with private sector business leaders to build momentum for the upcoming Commonwealth Business Forum, one of four official official side forums that will run alongside the 2026 summit alongside the Women’s Forum, People’s Forum, and Youth Forum. He also held productive meetings with Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Botchwey, and conducted a bilateral discussion with Chris Elmore, the United Kingdom’s Parliamentary Under-Secretary for Multilateral Affairs, Human Rights, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Greene received consistent support from a team of Antigua and Barbuda diplomatic officials throughout all London engagements, including High Commissioner Karen-Mae Hill, Minister Counsellor Chantal Phillip, Second Secretary Brent Scotland, and Third Secretary Caleb Gardiner. As the host nation, Antigua and Barbuda continues to maintain close collaborative working relationships with the Commonwealth Secretariat and all member states to ensure CHOGM 2026 delivers meaningful, practical, and forward-looking outcomes that deliver value to all 56 Commonwealth nations.