Commonwealth division launches after Brexit puts it back on the map
Brexit has put the Commonwealth back on the map, according to those involved in the new Greater Birmingham Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce (CBCCC).
The Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce (GBCC) officially launched its 10th division yesterday, with the hope of bringing new opportunities for Birmingham and the Commonwealth’s 2.4bn citizens.
GBCC president Paul Kehoe, speaking at an event at Aston University on Commonwealth Day yesterday, said that his “lightbulb” moment happened in June 2016 when the Brexit result was announced.
He said: “The lightbulb was that we may have lost our place in Europe because of the democratic vote, but the people of this country chose a different route and that didn’t close a door for me.
“It opened a door and said we’ve forgotten the 52 countries we’ve loved and cherished and worked with for 60, 70 years. We should be renewing these links.”
After the Brexit vote, Kehoe said he talked with the GBCC about how these links could be renewed from a business perspective, because “trade has enabled us to have the quality of life we do. The 23rd June set me on another train to create the Commonwealth Chamber”.
Kehoe, who spent nine years running Birmingham Airport, added that Birmingham’s improving connectivity is ensuring the city’s future potential.
“I’m ashamed to say, as former CEO of the airport, that we only served a handful of those 52 countries outside of the UK. And the eight or nine countries we flew to wasn’t enough of a trading platform.
“As trade increases and connectivity grows, we’re there and ready. HS2 is going to bring this country closer together and change the economical geography, and the centre of that new network is this city”.
Keith Stokes-Smith, president of GBCCC says the Commonwealth’s potential has been overlooked.
“Membership is, for the most part, based upon history,” he said. “But having its sole bond on history clearly isn’t enough in today’s world. It has to be relevant, it needs to be about people, economic growth and the future, rather than the past.
“The unexpected Brexit decision puts the Commonwealth back on the map. The Commonwealth is the obvious place to look, not an alternative to Europe, but complementary to it. We need and can have both”.
Birmingham will host the Commonwealth Games in 2022.
