LUSAKA, Zambia

Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey on Wednesday asked the bloc's 56 member states to ease trade barriers to achieve an intra-trade target of $2 trillion by the year 2030.

Botchwey, speaking at the official opening of the inaugural Commonwealth Business Summit (CBS) in Windhoek, Namibia's capital, described the summit as a platform for promoting trade, investment, and innovation.

"Our goal of $2 trillion in intra-Commonwealth trade by 2030 is ambitious but achievable. To reach it, we need to build confidence, break down barriers, and bring new actors into the conversation," Botchwey said.

The three-day summit, co-hosted by the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Namibian government, coincides with the Commonwealth Trade Ministers Meeting (CTMM), which Botchwey said would encourage leaders to accelerate member states' ambitious industrialization agendas to expand consumer markets across the Commonwealth.

"That is the pathway to our shared prosperity," she added.

Selma Ashipala-Musavyi, Namibia's minister of international relations and trade, rallied member states to collaborate in navigating the recent trade tariffs imposed on most countries to identify new avenues for growth and investment.

"Our task is to facilitate the unlocking of the potential in the Commonwealth member states' natural resource endowment through collaboration and partnerships across our borders," she said.

Fiame Naomi Mataafa, prime minister and minister for trade for Samoa, a South Pacific island nation, said Commonwealth member countries are uniquely positioned to unlock trade and investment opportunities while also strengthening public-private partnerships.

"This is a growing conflict, and other global crises pose challenges of an uncertain future," Mataafa said.