Sunday, Commonwealth said leaders of Commonwealth nations agreed to admit Rwanda as the 54th member of the Commonwealth.
On 28 November 2009, the leaders of Commonwealth nations who were holding their biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting or CHOGM in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago considered application for membership by the Republic Of Rwanda, Commonwealth said.
The statement issued by the Commonwealth said that the Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma had telephoned Rwanda's President, His Excellency Paul Kagame, late on 28th November 2009 to convey the leaders' decision.
Rwanda is a small central African country which has historic links to Britain dating back to the colonial ear.
In January 2008, the Government of Rwanda had conveyed its interest to Join the Commonwealth following which the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Republic of Rwanda have engaged in a series of consultations. The Secretary-General in October 2009 received an application from President Kagame transmitting Rwanda's formal application for Commonwealth membership.
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