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British Royals

Rwanda to host the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting after Malaysia pulls out

The leaders of the Commonwealth group of nations have this evening decided to hold the next Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Rwanda after Malaysia pulled out.

The next Heads of Government meeting will take place in the African country in 2020 – exact dates have not yet been announced.

Malaysia was due to host the summit, however, they pulled out after Prime Minister Najib Razak decided not to come to London.

He is thought to have remained in his country due to an upcoming general election. The Malaysian delegation is instead led by Senate president Tan Sri S.A. Vigneswaran.

Rwanda will become the first African nation to host the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting since Uganda in 2007.

The country became a member of the Commonwealth in 2009 and was only the second country to be admitted without a British colonial past or constitutional link to Britain.

It is extremely unlikely that The Queen will make the journey to the Rwandan capital city of Kigali in 2020. The Prince of Wales will likely go in her place, as was the case in 2014 when he represented her in Sri Lanka.

On Friday it was confirmed that Prince Charles would become the next Head of the Commonwealth once the reign of Her Majesty comes to an end.

All 53 Commonwealth leaders agreed with The Queen that Prince Charles would be the most suitable person to lead the Commonwealth forward.

It had been suggested that whoever should succeed The Queen should be elected to the role and it should be served on a termly basis.

Many politicians from the Commonwealth nations have expressed their support for Prince Charles over the past week of events in London.

On Thursday, while officially opening the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, The Queen expressed her own opinion on the matter.

She said: “It is my sincere wish that the Commonwealth will continue to offer stability and continuity for future generations, and will decide that one day The Prince of Wales should carry on the important work started by my father in 1949.”