THERE will be a number of people in Wiltshire, particularly the members of the Wiltshire Brandt Group centred on Marlborough, that will be delighted at the very recent news that The Gambia has started the process of rejoining the Commonwealth of Nations, that used to be known by the name British Commonwealth.

The country’s new president, Adama Barrow, is fulfilling an election promise to rejoin The Gambia to The Commonwealth.

Personally, I was delighted by this news because during my time as Wiltshire’s Chief Fire Officer the Fire Authority approved the donation of a fire engine to The Gambia and it was flown out there by a Hercules aircraft based at RAF Lyneham.

So, there are many of us in Wiltshire who have a warm spot in our hearts for the people of The Gambia.

The previous president of The Gambia withdrew his country from the Commonwealth in October 2013 after branding it a “neo-colonial institution” but that description is far from the truth. It is true that Queen Elizabeth II is the present head of the Commonwealth but the way that she presides over it is very different to the way that previous monarchs held sway over the British Empire.

There are 52 member countries in the Commonwealth and membership is voluntary. Like The Gambia, three members, Pakistan, Fiji and South Africa left the Commonwealth but have since rejoined it. This must tell us something about how Commonwealth membership is valued.

The leaders of the member countries meet every two years to discuss matters of mutual interest. Although the size and economic status of the members is very diverse, all have an equal say. The Commonwealth has members in Europe, Africa, the Americas and the Pacific.

To join the Commonwealth and remain in membership members have to subscribe to the Commonwealth’s values and principles set out in the Commonwealth Charter.

The Charter is all about the members giving mutual support in maintaining democracy, good governance and promoting matters such as diversity, equality and women’s rights.

The Commonwealth theme for this year has been declared to be 'peace building'. In a world that seems to be getting more dangerous by the hour, that theme gets my vote!

Since the 1970s the UK governments have had little choice but to place their main attention on the European Union because we are members of it.

Now, we are committed to Brexit and words such as 'globalisation' are creeping back into the language of our political leaders.

Suddenly, it appears that to maintain our position as the fifth strongest economy in the world, the UK has to forge new trade links with nations that are outside the European Union.

The relationships that exist with the 51 other countries with Commonwealth membership must surely be of value in providing opportunities to strike new trade deals.

However, we have family living in New Zealand and they have been quick to remind us that the strong trading links that did exist between Britain and New Zealand were broken with little consideration for the Kiwis when we thought that we needed the European Union more than we needed them.

We must just hope that when the negotiations start to re-establish those trade links memories will be short-lived and so will any bitterness now the tables have turned.

Accepting that like all the international organisations such as the United Nations and the EU, the Commonwealth must have some flaws, but in many respects it sets a very good example of how to create and sustain really valuable relationships that span the world.