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Rediff.com  » News » Kaul frontrunner for top Commonwealth post

Kaul frontrunner for top Commonwealth post

Source: PTI
April 18, 2007 00:10 IST
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Mohan Kaul, director-general of Commonwealth Business Council, is emerging as one of the frontrunners for the post of secretary general of Commonwealth.

If selected, he will succeed Don McKinnon whose term ends later this year.

Kaul, who has served with the Indian Institute of Management, the United Nations and in the Commonwealth for nearly 25 years, told PTI on Tuesday that he has asked both the British and Indian governments to nominate him for the coveted post.

"I am very confident of my success and I will be counting on my work during the last 25 years," he said.

Referring to areas where the Commonwealth should bring its collective weight in the coming years, Kaul said, "We need to press for a free and fair trade deal in the WTO round of negotiations that is truly developmental and provides market access and opportunities for the developing countries."

"We also need to assist countries in strengthening their capacity to trade and take advantage of opportunities that will otherwise be wasted. Trade expansion should lead to job creation, not jobless growth, and we need effective policies and strategies to achieve this. Investment flows will come from the private sector and will outstrip official development assistance," he added.

So far, the Maltese government has put forward its Foreign Minister, Michael Frendo, as its candidate for the post of Commonwealth secretary general.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa has floated the idea that SAARC member countries should work for the election of an Indian as the next secretary general of Commonwealth.

Among the names that are being floated so far include Shashi Tharoor, who unsuccessfully contested for the UN secretary general's post and India's Panchayat Raj and Sports Minister Mani Shankar Aiyer.

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