BELMOPAN, Belize – Marconi Leal, minister of state for foreign trade, represented Belize at the 2025 Commonwealth Trade Ministers Meeting (CTMM), held from June 19–20 in Windhoek, Namibia. Minister Leal was accompanied by Andy Sutherland, director general for foreign trade, who participated in the meeting of senior trade officials held on June 16-17.
Director General Sutherland ensured that Belize’s trade and investment priorities were meaningfully reflected in the outcomes of the discussions. Minister Leal championed Belize’s focus on trade resilience, energy transition, and trade inclusivity during the meeting.
The CTMM brought together ministers from across the 56-member Commonwealth to deepen cooperation and strengthen resilience in response to global trade challenges. The theme, “Fostering Resilience: Strengthening Intra-Commonwealth Trade and Investment Linkages,” aligned closely with Belize’s priorities for inclusive, sustainable, and development-oriented trade.
Minister Leal welcomed the consensus reached in the 2025 CTMM Outcome Statement, which called for:
- Advancing intra-Commonwealth trade to reach US$2 trillion by 2030;
- Supporting small and vulnerable economies, including Small Island Developing States (SIDS) like Belize;
- Accelerating a sustainable energy transition through trade and investment in clean technologies;
- Promoting green trade, circular economy solutions, and resilience to climate-related shocks;
- Enhancing technical assistance and access to climate-aligned trade finance.
“Belize is committed to leveraging Commonwealth partnerships to unlock investment in our key sectors, strengthen our climate resilience, and enable inclusive economic growth,” stated minister Leal. “We value the leadership of the Commonwealth in convening this platform in an effort to collaborate and harmonize on how the Commonwealth can attain trade expansion by 2030.”
The CTMM also endorsed the Commonwealth Statement in support of the Multilateral Trading System, reaffirming the central role of the WTO in advancing fair and open trade. Belize reiterated its support for rules-based trade and emphasized the importance of inclusive outcomes at the upcoming WTO Ministerial Conference (MC14), particularly in areas impacting Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and SIDS.
Minister Leal’s participation reinforced Belize’s commitment to shaping global trade policies that benefit small and developing economies and to ensuring Belizean voices remain valued in international decision-making.
The meeting concluded with a call for heads of government to reflect on the 2025 CTMM outcomes at the 2026 Commonwealth heads of government meeting (CHOGM) in Antigua and Barbuda, ensuring continuity in trade and investment priorities across the Commonwealth.
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