Ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Perth, he defended the grouping's relevance and work, saying that it had "never been in danger of decay".
In the three-day meeting, leaders would discuss a series of proposals, including setting up an independent commissioner to monitor human rights. In a recent list of countries deemed to be doing the best in good governance, democracy and rule of law, seven of the top eight were commonwealth nations, and no member states were in the last 10, Sharma said, according the 'Nine News'.
"This cannot be by accident. This is a result of the sedimentation of the culture of democracy over time which commonwealth members have been able to generate. "I'm convinced that this is going to be a landmark CHOGM in respect of what is put in place on reform, renewal and resilience," Sharma said ahead of the meeting, which will be opened by Queen Elizabeth II on Friday.
The Commonwealth is a grouping of mainly former British colonies.
Published 26 October 2011, 09:15 IST