His Excellency Kamalesh Sharma
Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations
Minister Fitzgerald, Honourable Ministers and Heads of Delegation, Commonwealth friends and colleagues...
We have reached the end of an outstandingly successful Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers.
The years of careful planning by The Bahamas Task Force, under the guidance of our skilled and sensitive Conference Chair, Hon Jerome Fitzgerald, have resulted in decisions that will yield rich benefits for many years to come. They will bring opportunities for transformation and fulfilment of potential in the lives and livelihoods of millions of citizens in all 53 of our Commonwealth member states.
This Conference is an example of how the Commonwealth adds global value - practically and collaboratively. Decisions made here in Nassau over recent days show how that Commonwealth affinity, and the spirit of goodwill and mutual support that have suffused our discussion, is a potent force for good in the contemporary world.
We have of course discussed challenges, and the issues that confront us nationally and globally. But collectively, and with generous offers from individual member states, we have found Commonwealth responses and embarked on fresh practical action.
The parallel forums for teachers, youth, and stakeholders - including Vice-Chancellors, have contributed immensely, and we thank all participants for their commitment to advancing the values of the Commonwealth Charter - particularly as they relate to education, employment, and inclusiveness in social and economic development.
This week in The Bahamas we have seen a physical manifestation of the new Commonwealth Education Hub, launched yesterday, that now allows us through digital and cloud technology to carry forward our work in depth, in cooperation, and in real time.
As one Honourable Minister observed yesterday, the motto from The Bahamas coat of arms might be the watchword for this Commonwealth approach: 'Forward, Upward, Onward, Together'. That togetherness and that collective ambition to achieve more is both a great aspiration and a great inspiration.
With The Bahamas having brought CCEM to the Caribbean for the first time in 25 years, look now look forward to assembling again in three years' time, and thank the Government of Fiji for its generous offer to host 20CCEM, the first time CCEM will have been in the Pacific region since 1971.
As we visitors leave these warm and welcoming shores, I thank each and every one of you for you participation. Let all of us carry with us and carry forward the wisdom gained here in The Bahamas, and find new and practical ways of delivering those three precious ‘Ps’ of our Conference theme: Quality Education for Equitable Development: Performance, Paths and Productivity'.
