Britain hopes to use the Commonwealth summit, which opens in London on Monday, as an opportunity to strengthen ties with the countries of its former empire, with the aim of increasing trade, as it prepares to leave the EU.

“Some of the most dynamic economies in the world will be present. “It is a great opportunity for us to rebuild old friendships,” Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, said on the BBC on Sunday.

According to an analysis published by the Commonwealth Secretariat, trade between member countries of the organization is expected to increase by 17% to reach $700 billion (€567 million) in 2020.

“Brexit will have wide-ranging economic implications for the United Kingdom, the European Union and many members of the Commonwealth,” the report notes.

“The post-Brexit period could present important opportunities for the United Kingdom to negotiate bilateral trade agreements with interested member countries,” he underlines.

The summit will take place over five days, of which the first three will be dedicated to a forum and conferences, while the heads of government will meet in the last two.

In particular, the United Kingdom is organizing a reception aimed at highlighting its export potential, presenting numerous products, from food to drinks, including the Premier League trophy, the English soccer championship.

Liam Fox, British Secretary of State for International Trade, will host a conference on Monday to promote free and fair trade and potential levers for growth.

– “Pleasant illusion” –

Less than a year before Brexit, scheduled for March 2019, London is seeking to rekindle ties with the countries of its former colonial empire, which have taken a backseat since the United Kingdom joined the European Economic Community (EEC). in 1973.

Theresa May's Government has been insisting for months on the capacity it will have, after its withdrawal from the EU, to negotiate new trade agreements with third countries.

But for the weekly The Economist, the Commonwealth “will not save the United Kingdom from Brexit.” The idea that trade with the countries of the former empire can compensate for trade with the EU is, according to him, “a pleasant illusion.”

In 2016, of the UK's top fifteen trading partners, nine were European countries and none were members of the Commonwealth. The EU accounts for almost half of Britain's foreign trade, compared to just a tenth for the Commonwealth.

“Sorry, Brexiteers, but trusting the Commonwealth is a joke,” Philip Murphy, director of the Institute of Commonwealth Studies, wrote in The Guardian shortly before the summit. “The idea that he could take over once the UK leaves the EU makes no sense.”

– Ocean pollution –

The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) returns to British soil for the first time since 1997.

The 53 member countries of the organization are meeting around the theme “Towards a common future”, with the ambition to develop, in particular, a charter against ocean pollution and a declaration against online crimes.

The summit “promises to bring profound changes to the people of the Commonwealth,” declared the organization's secretary general, Patricia Scotland, estimating that the decisions made by the leaders of “a quarter of the world's countries” could have an impact. far beyond its borders.”

During the last Commonwealth summit, organized in November 2015 in Malta, members concluded an agreement against climate change, paving the way for the one that would be signed a few weeks later in Paris within the framework of COP21.

At the head of the Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth II will host political leaders participating in the summit at a dinner at Buckingham Palace on Thursday afternoon, before a meeting on Friday at Windsor Castle, west of London. .