Commonwealth leaders reaffirm commitment to sustainable development

Commonwealth leaders Sunday reaffirmed their commitment to sustainable development and promotion of an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable future.

In a communique issued at the end of the three-day Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) here, the leaders acknowledged that eradicating poverty is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development, Xinhua reported.

"In this context, heads (of governments) welcomed and expressed support for all ongoing work mandated in the Rio+20 outcome document: the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development particularly to provide leadership, guidance and recommendations at the global level for sustainable development; the Inter-Governmental Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development Financing; the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals; as well as the process to develop options for a technology facilitation mechanism," the communique stated.

The Commonwealth leaders ensured an integrated and holistic approach to sustainable development and reaffirmed all the Rio principles, including the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.

The leaders acknowledged the importance of the inter-governmental process for elaboration of a set of sustainable development goals that could integrate with the post-2015 development agenda.

They adopted the Colombo Declaration on Sustainable, Inclusive and Equitable Development at the end of the summit.