Queen Elizabeth II opens Commonwealth meeting in Malta

VALLETTA, Malta (AP) — Queen Elizabeth II opened the Commonwealth summit Friday on the Mediterranean island of Malta — a meeting that this year will focus on climate change and the threat of extremist violence.

The 89-year-old British monarch praised the accomplishments of the Commonwealth during her address to the other leaders of the 53-nation organization.

"Prince Philip and I first came to live here in Malta in 1949, the year the Commonwealth was founded," she said, hailing a vast advancement in freedom and human rights in the decades since then. "I have been privileged to witness this transformation and to consider its purpose."

The Commonwealth links more than 2 billion people on five continents, including large countries like India, Australia and Canada and small island states like Tonga and Vanuatu.

Elizabeth, who said the Commonwealth is based on shared values, received a standing ovation from the Commonwealth's leaders. She was accompanied to Malta by her husband Prince Philip and her son Prince Charles, heir to the throne, and Charles' wife, Camilla.

The queen paid tribute to Philip, praising his "boundless energy and commitment" to the Commonwealth, and Charles, who represented her at the 2013 summit in Sri Lanka and is expected to represent her at future Commonwealth meetings if they take place on other continents.

French President Francois Hollande plans to address Commonwealth leaders later Friday ahead of the U.N. climate change conference beginning in Paris next week.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, meanwhile, has announced plans to set up a Commonwealth unit targeting the extremist "scourge" that is fueling international terrorism.