By Naveen Kapoor
Kampala (Uganda), Nov.24 (ANI): Maltese Foreign Minister Michael Frendo is pulling out all stops to achieve his objective of becoming the 53–member Commonwealth’s next Secretary-General.
In an interview to Al Jazeera, Frendo said: I am the only candidate who is putting the hat in the ring with parliamentary experience.
Keen to keep India’s present High Commissioner to Britain, Kamlesh Sharma, who is a career diplomat, out of the race, Frendo said: I have remained a minister for ten out of the 20 years of my political career, and that too, from a small island which is now a part of the European Union.
The Indian camp, on the other hand, is pinning its hopes on the fact that no Asian has held the top Commonwealth post for the past two decades, and that this time, it is Asias turn.
But learning from the fiasco surrounding Shashi Tharoor’s bid for the post of U.N.Secretary General earlier this year, the Indian delegatio is treading cautiously and is not playing up the contest.
Commenting on Pakistan’s suspension from the Commonwealth, Frendo, who is also the head of the CMAG that took the decision, said: Pakistan will remain a member of the Commonwealth and it is only suspended from the council.
Terming Pakistans suspension as a difficult decision, he further said: “We want to remain engaged with Pakistan and it can return only when democracy is restored and rule of law is in place.
Pakistan, he said, has to satisfy CMAG in order to rejoin the grouping. (ANI)