VALLETTA (Malta), Nov 25: Queen Elizabeth of Britain emphasized the issues of terrorism, poverty, last year’s tsunami disaster and the devastating earthquake in Pakistan as she opened the 53-nation Commonwealth summit here on Friday.

Trade issues dominated the deliberations at the inaugural session of the summit of mostly ex-British Empire nations.

After the inaugural and executive session, leaders went into retreat for deliberations on substantive issues over the next two days.

During the meeting, a report of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on Harare Declaration was presented. The report pertains to state of democracy in the member countries.

According to Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon, the leaders acknowledged that Pakistan had made significant progress on way to democracy. He said concern was expressed at the situation, but there was no acrimony and no debate.

Sources said that although leaders would like to see transition to real democracy, they expressed concern over retention of two offices by one man. They would like to see how President Pervez Musharraf kept his promises with regard to democracy.

The leaders, the sources said, indicated that Pakistan would still remain on the watch-list but due to realities of the prevailing global politics they might not push for it.

The situation in Uganda also came up for consideration.

Speaking at the executive meeting, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz briefed the leaders on the Oct 8 earthquake and thanked the world community for support. He stressed the need for continued assistance as Pakistan entered the phase of rehabilitation of victims.

He said democracy in Pakistan was well rooted and progressing. He referred to economic policies that were focused on trade liberalization and deregulation.

Earlier in the morning, a spectacular ceremony for the meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government was held at the Mediterranean Conference Centre.

Maltese Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Mr McKinnon, and Nigerian President Obasanjo made brief speeches. Later, a dance show was held which was designed to depict different periods of the Maltese history.

Queen Elizabeth on the occasion stressed that by being accommodating, compassionate, tolerant and respectful of others, the Commonwealth could exploit its diversity as a source of great strength.

This, she said, was illustrated in the Commonwealth’s response to natural disasters in recent years. “Last year’s terrifying tsunami washed away lives and livelihoods across the Indian Ocean and more recently, we have witnessed the dreadful earthquake and aftershocks in southern Asia,” she said.

“Determined and collective action can also help us tackle other challenges that cannot be addressed alone, such as the scourge of terrorism which is a threat to us all and has directly affected a number of our countries.”

She thanked those who expressed sympathy over London bombings.

Mr McKinnon said that democracy must meet the aspirations of people so that they could participate in it and exert an influence. He said it was on such foundation that one could best build a sustainable economic platform.

He, however, acknowledged that there was a high level of despondency and a low level of ambition for the Doha Round. This was a test of the Commonwealth leadership, he said.

“Tolerance is a word we hear a good deal. Tolerance must be an active, not a passive concept. There must be positive engagement among different groups, not simply indifference or grudging acceptance. What matters is practical action at the national and community levels. The Commonwealth can show the way,” he said

Maltese Prime Minister Gonzi said the most robust response to poverty and forced migration was to give people faith in their future – faith that they were also included in global thinking about networks for development, faith that human civilization cared for their well-being. He said Malta wanted to work with the rest of the Commonwealth to renew that faith in the 21st century.

President Olusenju Obasanjo of Nigeria stressed the need for addressing the issue of poverty and said that the Millennium Development Goals should be approached seriously.