Queen Elizabeth II officially opens Commonwealth summit in Nigeria

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, December 05, 2003

Queen Elizabeth II officially opens Commonwealth summit in Nigeria

Queen Elizabeth II of Britain on Friday officially opened the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which attracted leaders from 52 Commonwealth nations.

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Queen Elizabeth II of Britain on Friday officially opened the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), which attracted leaders from 52 Commonwealth nations.

Queen Elizabeth II of Britain, in her capacity as head of the Commonwealth, arrived in Abuja, capital of Nigeria, on Wednesday on a four-day state visit.

During the opening ceremony, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo and Secretary General of the Commonwealth Don Mckinnon delivered speeches, specifying that the summit would focus on the issues of world trade, terrorism and development.

The CHOGM is held once every two years to give the leaders a chance to discuss behind closed doors about the problems of the world.

Though Zimbabwe's suspension from the organization has triggered deep divisions among the organization, Commonwealth leaders did not want the Zimbabwe issue to dominate their summit in Abuja, said Mckinnon.

Zimbabwe has not been invited to the summit, with the suspension of President Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe from the body's council 20 months ago, after he was accused by some Commonwealth members of using violence and fraud in the presidential elections.

Along with Zimbabwe, Pakistan was suspended from the 54-member group in 1999 after General Pervez Musharraf seized the power.

Mckinnon said that no leader had boycotted the Abuja CHOGM overthe non-invitation of Zimbabwe.

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