Over 5000 athletes are converging on Birmingham right now for the Commonwealth Games, coming from as far away as Malaysia and Jamaica. Challengers will aim to break records in an event that has already seen the likes of Ian Thorpe, a 15-year-old human dolphin, break a 1500-meter record set by Tanzania's Filbert Bayi in 1974 that still stands today, launch the career of a seven-time gold medal-winning weightlifter who would go on to become President of Nauru, and introduce the world to a weightlifter who had previously won the event.
For many of our 2.5 billion inhabitants, the Games are the part of the Commonwealth that is most visible. The potential of the Commonwealth to increase commerce, business, and investment amongst its 56 members is less obvious and underappreciated. Given that free trade and free enterprise offer the best collective It ought to be used more effectively to offer means for shared prosperity.
Despite the diversity in our global family of nations, there are some things we all have in common that help commerce and investment. This is the Commonwealth Advantage: the widespread use of the English language that facilitates simple and effective communication; the familiar, historically based legal and administrative frameworks that make it simple to operate in one another's business environments; and the vibrant diaspora networks that bind businesses and commerce closer together around the globe.
These benefits come at a price: trading between members is, on average, 21% cheaper, which contributes to the fact that they trade with one another 20% more than the rest of the world. Ghana is sending its largest-ever squad, 101 participants, to the games in Birmingham.
Ghana can win every year with greater commerce and investment thanks to the Commonwealth Advantage, eliminating the need to wait four years for the possibility of gold.
When we take into account the future of our particular association of states, the numbers have even more significance. Within five years, the overall GDP of the Commonwealth is anticipated to increase by close to 50%, reaching $19.5 trillion. Over half of the world's growing cities are located in member countries, from Bangalore, a digital innovator of the future generation, to Nairobi, a buzzing hub for entrepreneurs. Even if the Commonwealth is endowed with abundant natural resources, the immense reservoirs of intellect and energy that result from the fact that 60% of the population is under 30 are far more significant. These are the future global economy's growth markets.
We must now consider how to make the Commonwealth Advantage stronger. Of course, there is more we can do to ensure that commerce between our nations is fair but also freer by reducing tariffs and other artificial restrictions. As some claim, our respective memberships in regional trading blocs or customs unions do not restrict us because we may cut barriers while maintaining compliance with various groupings. The majority of the time, one is unrelated to the other. Even in those cases, the Commonwealth does not impose requirements on its members that force them to make a decision. Instead, we might make ad hoc arrangements to improve commerce through mutual confidence.
In actuality, our voluntary association's informality is what gives it its power. We are free to consider a wide range of options since we are not constrained by an onerous bureaucracy. Given that so many of our members are global leaders in technology innovation, such knowledge should be applied to remove technical trade obstacles, such as through digitising time-consuming and wasteful paperwork at customs or using blockchain to reduce border inspections. Lowering barriers should be accompanied by supportive physical and digital commerce infrastructure.
Additionally, we need to work together to reduce perceived investment risks in some of our emerging nations. Even while the Commonwealth only accounts for a fourth of global FDI, our members may still access enormous pools of money.
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