President Mahinda Rajapaksa arrived in London this morning to participate at a special Commonwealth Summit where a group of leaders will discuss reform of international institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The summit, to be chaired by Gordon Brown will take place at the Marlborough House, London on June 9 and 10.

The meeting will focus on practical steps which Commonwealth member states can take to achieve reform and coherence of global institutions. Its three-part focus will be on the international financial institutions, global environmental governance and the UN system.

This is the first step in implementing the decision of the November 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting at which leaders decided to establish a small representative group from their 53-member association to undertake lobbying and advocacy for the reform of international institutions, the Commonwealth secretariat said.

The following leaders will be attending the mini-summit: President Bharrat Jagdeo (Guyana), President Maumoon Gayoom (Maldives), Prime Minister Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam (Mauritius), President Mahinda Rajapaksa (Sri Lanka), President Jakaya Kikwete (United Republic of Tanzania), Prime Minister Dr Feleti Sevele (Tonga), Prime Minister Patrick Manning (Trinidad and Tobago), President Yoweri Museveni (Uganda) and Prime Minister Gordon Brown (United Kingdom). Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak will represent Malaysia and Vice-President Alhaji Aliu Mahama will represent Ghana at the meeting.