| 18th Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting | |
|---|---|
| Host country |  Nigeria |
| Dates | 5–8 December 2003 |
| Venue(s) | Aso Rock |
| Cities | Abuja |
| Participants | 51 (of 54 members) |
| Heads of State or Government | 38 |
| Chair | Olusegun Obasanjo (President) |
| Follows | 2002 |
| Precedes | 2005 |
| Key points | |
The 2003 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting was the 18th Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Commonwealth of Nations. It was held in Abuja, Nigeria, between 5 December and 8 December 2003, and hosted by President Olusegun Obasanjo.
The Zimbabwean issue was dominant, leading to one of the highest media profiles for a CHOGM in recent times. The dispute over Zimbabwe's suspension led to a dispute over the re-election of Secretary-General Don McKinnon, and, before the end of the meeting, Robert Mugabe's announcement that Zimbabwe was withdrawing from the Commonwealth. The Aso Rock Declaration reaffirmed the Harare Declaration of 1991 and set the 'promotion of democracy and development' as the organisation's priorities.[1]
The meeting was attended by representatives of fifty-one countries out of the Commonwealth's fifty-four members (suspended members Zimbabwe and Pakistan were not invited, whilst Antigua and Barbuda sent no representative). Thirty-eight were represented by their Head of State or Head of Government.[2]
- ^ "Our Work". Commonwealth Secretariat. Archived from the original on 2008-04-12. Retrieved 2008-04-03.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Abuja Notebookwas invoked but never defined (see the help page).