With the collapse of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, the Commonwealth decided to exclude the white minority rule regime of Southern Rhodesia from the conference for the first time as it was not an independent state. The conference communique rejected any prospective Unilateral Declaration of Independence by the colony and called for all party talks to achieve a multi-racial state. The meeting also reaffirmed its opposition to apartheid, expressed concern about racial strife in British Guiana and the situation in Cyprus. The Commonwealth meeting expressed sympathy for Malaysia in its conflict with Indonesia. The creation of a Commonwealth Secretariat was also proposed.