Perth, Oct 28 (IANS): Queen Elizabeth II Friday declared open the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) here, urging member-nations to address fresh global challenges in the fields of food security, finance, climate change and trade.

Asking the 54-nation grouping to remain "fresh and fit for tomorrow", the head of the Commonwealth voiced the hope that the "results of the meeting would have a global impact" and that they would be "positive and enduring".

The short address by the Queen, wearing a powder blue silk jacquard dress by Angela Kelly, came after an elegant opening ceremony that had a mix of the modern and the traditional, with elders and youth of the Noongar people who inhabited this part of Western Australia, performing for the gathering.

The opening event was also addressed by Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who is the new chair, Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma and outgoing chair and Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

Vice President Hamid Ansari heads the Indian delegation to CHOGM 2011.