British Prime Minister Andy Burnham will set out his vision for a debt reset and stronger trade with Commonwealth countries at a summit in Antigua and Barbuda on Tuesday, an event likely to be dominated in part by calls for slavery reparations.
Burnham will join King Charles and leaders from the Commonwealth’s 56 member states, where he will argue that the organisation can play a bigger role in tackling global challenges including climate change, economic growth and security.
The debt question sits at the heart of his pitch. Around half of developing countries struggling with debt are in the Commonwealth, according to Burnham’s office, and rising global interest rates have deepened the pressure they face. Work to stop those countries from being trapped in debt spirals must include donors outside the G7 club of rich economies, as well as the private sector, Burnham will say on Tuesday.
He will also announce taskforces to increase investment in Commonwealth countries’ critical mineral industries and reduce barriers to trade, along with £40 million ($54 million) of investment into critical infrastructure in the Caribbean over the next three years.
The summit also opens a sensitive chapter on Britain’s past. Burnham said at the weekend he was open to calls for a formal apology for Britain’s historical role in slavery, although not the payment of reparations. His spokesman said on Monday that talks would begin in Antigua on what shape any apology could take.
“We think it’s right that a formal apology is discussed properly with the countries and communities most affected, rather than simply deciding unilaterally what form it should take,” the spokesman said.
The king, who will open the summit on Tuesday, has during a week-long visit to the Caribbean sought to acknowledge “the great suffering and injustices of the past” without going so far as to issue a formal apology, sticking with the British government’s long-term approach. While he is expected to mention slavery, he will also focus on bringing people together to tackle the challenges of today, a palace spokesperson said.
That is unlikely to appease some member countries, including CARICOM, the Caribbean Community, a group of 23 member and associate member states including the Bahamas, Barbados and Jamaica, which has been pushing for reparations to be on the meeting’s agenda.
The Commonwealth comprises mostly former British colonies and encompasses some 2.7 billion people. From the 15th to the 19th century, at least 12.5 million Africans were abducted and sold into slavery by European traders, with Britain transporting an estimated 3.2 million people across the Atlantic, according to the Transatlantic Slave Trade Database.
Note: the featured image is a file photo of English Harbour, Antigua, not a photograph of the summit.
Sources: Reuters, “UK PM to raise debt reset and trade at Commonwealth summit”, 2 November 2026, https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-pm-raise-debt-reset-trade-commonwealth-summit-2026-11-02/
