From right: Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki and Nigeria's President Olusegun Obasanjo

Commonwealth leaders are meeting on the Mediterranean island of Malta for talks on several issues, including the upcoming World Trade Organization talks.

Terrorism and human rights concerns, including in member state Uganda, are on the agenda of the talks.

Finding ways to help poorer countries receive greater benefit from global markets is also among the topics for discussion. Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon urged the body to take the lead by taking up the cause of the poorer nations during next month's WTO talks in Hong Kong.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II opened the biennial summit Friday. The 53 Commonwealth nations, including Australia, Canada, India and Pakistan, account for almost one-third of the world's population. Most, but not all members, were once part of the British empire.