Funding
The Secretariat and its work are financed by three separate budgets or funds. The budget of the Secretariat itself is based on assessed contributions. Governments contribute on an agreed scale based on capacity to pay. Starting 2009/2010, the Commonwealth Youth Programme (CYP) is also financed by assessed contributions. The Commonwealth Fund for Technical Cooperation (CFTC) is financed by voluntary contributions. For 2009/2010, the Secretariat’s budget was UK£14,995,745, the CFTC’s UK£29,168,723 and the CYP’s UK£2,815,018 million.

Funding the Commonwealth Fund for Technical Co-operation (CFTC)
All contributions to the CFTC are voluntary. Over the past six years, the largest contributors have been [I think alphabetically] Australia, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, India, New Zealand, Nigeria and the UK. Some member countries’ overseas territories and associated states also contribute. For various special CFTC projects, contributions have been received from non-Commonwealth governments and voluntary organisations

Objective
The Secretariat aims to strengthen policies and systems that support economic growth in our member countries. We help Commonwealth countries take advantage of opportunities for economic growth and improve their ability to manage their economic development in the long-term.

Relevance
Our work is mandated by Commonwealth Heads of Governments and Ministerial meetings, which set the broad priorities. We respond to demand for assistance in the mandated areas. Programmes are adjusted over time to adapt to developments in the international economic environment as well as to take into account the evolving needs of member countries. We aim to be flexible and responsive to the needs of our membership.

As globalisation has advanced, many small states and countries in Africa have been marginalised and their share of global trade and investment has declined. This is the result of a variety factors. Growth in these areas has been faster elsewhere as these countries have frequently been hampered by lack of readily available information for investors and trading partners and an entrenched misperception of risk. Although Africa has achieved improved macro-economic stability, investment remains sluggish and progress towards the Millennium Development Goals has been disappointing. In order to achieve these goals, economic growth needs to be pro-poor and inclusive. The vulnerability of small states has been made more evident in recent years by faster than anticipated trade preferences, a worsening debt profile; HIV/AIDS; greater frequency and intensity of natural disasters; and increased youth unemployment, crime and insecurity.

South Asia has recorded impressive economic growth rates this decade but inclusive growth remains a priority for countries in the region. Despite progress in reducing the number of poor, the region continues to be home to the largest number of the world’s poor. Persistent challenges remain in the delivery of basic services to the deprived which is compounded by rapid urbanisation and inadequate rural infrastructure.

At the global level, financial instability in major markets, barriers to trade in both goods and services, shortcomings in institutional trading arrangements as well as shortcomings in global economic governance continue to impact on economic prospects of developing countries.

Hmmm, the friends of your enemy may not be your friends. Do try not to sway with every change of regime, it's exhausting, but you will ( on the plus side ) have great abs. Do we really need a list of nations that have fought in Afghanistan/Kashmir/India/Pakistan/Bangladesh/Armenia/Tibet/Nepal/Iraq/Iran/Palestine... over the years who may have offended Jeech ? Dude, if you're so pissed off with our imperialistic aggression stop taking the aid. I don't remember Britain/Canada/U.S./France/Germany...appealing for aid from you guys. Before you start throwing stones at our glass houses I would suggest putting some tape on the cracks in your own.

Before you speak of Kashmir Jeech it would be a good idea if you did a little research on the topic and used unbiased or less biased sources for reference. This is a very touchy topic and both governments have their points of view.

As for refrendum, though I personally am in favour of one and believe its long due, one must also consider that thousands upon thousands of Kashmiri Pandits (A Hindu Caste, the first Prime Minister of India was also a Kashmiri pandit) were forcefully and very violently uprooted from their homeland. They are still living in refugee camps. If you are sympathetic to palestines I think the Pandits deserve your sympathy too.

As for mass graves as in most of the world where there is heavy military presence in a conflict area there are atrocities committed by the military but they are not as bad as your media might make them out to be (not in Kashmir region any way, North east I can't defend but that is for another topic). Besides, unbiased elections are regularly held in Kashmir and people come out in large numbers to vote, it has become safer over the years and there is finally some optimism in respect to the economy. Tourism is flourishing again, infact it has increased dramatically in recent years. Many of the border villages are sympathetic to India to such an extent that the military trains the men and women there and provides them guns for defence, there is actualy an official term for this but I forgot.

As for intolerance, most of the nation is still more sensitive towards the daily inconvenience the people, mainly muslims have to face in their daily lives in Kashmir than the plight of displaced hindus or that of people in North east, in fact our media is VERY sensitive to Kashmiri people's problem and that receives huge coverage with the government and military usually at the receiving end. But I can't imagine stories about atrocities committed on the Pandits in Pakistani media, I might be wrong though. Seperatists regularly hold public meetings not only in Kashmir but recently in New Delhi itself. Seperatists are tolerated, in fact booker prize winner Arundhati Roy (A hindu) even shared the stage with an influential seperatist leader, and no one is crushing or killing them that too when both of us know that our countries are not too keen on defending our right to free speech.

Anyway we went off topic we can discuss Kashmir some other time, just wanted to tell you that as always there are different points of view, and the certainity with which you express your views its better to remember there is always ample scope for error and room for doubt specially with a topic like this.