ACP

Photo: Yuri Sterk. Credit: bnr.bg

By Yuri Sterk

The author is Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria. Following are extensive excerpts from his statement opening the 35th ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly on 18 June 2018 in Brussels. He represented the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU. – The Editor

BRUSSELS (ACP-IDN) – The 35th session of the Joint ACP-EU Parliamentary Assembly is of particular importance. The opening of negotiations on our future ACP-EU relations, after the expiry of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement, is fast approaching and negotiations are due to start by September 1, 2018. The outcome of parliamentarians' deliberations will feed into the shaping of our future ACP-EU relations.

OPINION

Photo: EU trade mission led by Brussels-based Trade Affairs Officer of the Directorate General for Trade of the European Commission, Roberto Cecutti visited the Kingdom of Lesotho's capital, Maseru, from 14-15 March 2018. Credit: European Union.

By Ntsoaki Nkoe

MASERU (ACP-IDN) – Lesotho, a landlocked kingdom encircled by South Africa, like many other member states of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group, has benefited from partnership with the European Union (EU) through financial assistance from the European Development Fund (EDF) and trade under preferential conditions, says Finance Minister Dr Moeketsi Majoro.

The current ACP-EU partnership agreement adopted in 2000 in Cotonou, Benin, to replace the 1975 Lomé Convention and Georgetown Agreement – expires in February 2020. Work has begun to lay the groundwork for the future partnership between the ACP countries and the EU. The current agreement provides for the opening of negotiations by the end of August 2018 at the latest.

NEWS

Credit: G7

BRUSSELS (ACP-IDN) - Eight ACP heads of government attended the G7 Summit in Quebec, Canada, on June 8-9, 2018: Jovenel Moïse, President of Haiti and Chair of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM); Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica; Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya; Hilda Heine, President of the Marshall Islands; Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda and Chair of the African Union; Macky Sall, President of Senegal; Danny Faure, President of Seychelles; and Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa.

NEWS

Photo (from left to right): Dr. Kaire Mbuende, Ambassador of Namibia, Dr. Patrick I. Gomes, ACP Secretary General, Prof. Mr. Adekeye Adebajo, the author, and Mr. Maxy Ogbede Minister-Counsellor, Embassy of Nigeria. Credit: ACP Press.

BRUSSELS (ACP-IDN) – A new book titled 'The Eagle and the Springbok: Essays on Nigeria and South Africa'by Professor Adekeye Adebajo was launched and discussed during an event at the ACP house on June 6.

The book essentially assesses Nigeria and South Africa relations in the areas of politics, economics, and culture within the context of rivalries and hegemony.

NEWS

Photo: 43rd ACP-EU Council of Ministers Meeting on 31 May 2018 in Lomé. Credit: ACP Press

By Robert Johnson

BRUSSELS | LOMÉ (ACP-IDN) – The Cotonou Partnership Agreement (CPA) between the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of 79 States and 28 European Union (EU) members expires on February 29, 2020. Formal negotiations for a successor Agreement should commence by August 2018.

With a view to underpinning preparations and execution of the negotiating process for a successor Agreement, the Council of Ministers of the ACP Group of States adopted on May 30, 2018 in Lomé, Togo, the core principles, a common approach and a policy framework document.

In pursuit of the implementation of the Council’s decisions, the Committee of Ambassadors initiated a number of activities, to guide preparations for the negotiations.

NEWS

Photo: Joint Press Conference with Deputy Prime Minister & Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, Ekaterina Zaharieva (second from left), and Jamaica's Minister of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade, Kamina Johnson Smith (third from left), flanked by ACP Secretary General Dr. P I Gomes (second from right). Credit: ACP Press.

By Robert Johnson

BRUSSELS | LOMÉ (IDN) – African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and the European Union will walk the talk on global governance by organising joint activities during United Nations conferences this year, according to co-presidents of the Joint ACP-EU Council of Ministers.

The Council issued a joint declaration reaffirming its commitment to the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and to the attainment of the long-term goals of the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

NEWS

Photo: Pre-Session Panel with ACP Secretary-General Dr P I Gomes in the centre. Credit: ACP Secretariat

LOMÈ (ACP-IDN) - Prior to the opening of the 107th session of the ACP Council of Ministers, consultations took place in order to hear the views from the various regional organisations on how they perceived the future for the ACP Group as it seeks to finalise its Negotiating Mandate. A Special session was held on 27th May 2018 so that all countries could voice their concerns and views. The consensus at the end of the day was that the ACP draft mandate was to be presented to the formal session of Council on 29th May for consideration.

NEWS

Photo: 7th Summit of ACP Heads of State and Government in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea in 2012. Credit: ACP Press.

By Robert Johnson

BRUSSELS (ACP-IDN) – Seventy-nine African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries are set to speak with one voice as they prepare to adopt a negotiating mandate for a pact with the European Union (EU) after the Cotonou Agreement expires in February 2020. ACP Government Ministers will convene on May 27 for preparatory discussions dedicated to post-Cotonou negotiations.

Two days later, the ACP Council of Ministers meeting in Lomé, the capital of Togo in West Africa, for their 107th Session on May 29-30 will deliberate on repositioning the ACP as "a more effective global player" within the overarching framework of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development including 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

NEWS

  1. European Development Fund Comes to Rescue as Backyard Schools Swamp Africa
  2. A Ugandan Brings Home The Value Of Neglected Minerals
  3. Samoa Leader Urges Genuine Climate Partnerships, Favours Draft Negotiating Post-Cotonou Mandate
  4. ACP Regional Experts Discuss Natural Disaster Risk Management & Climate Challenges
  5. ACP Facility Helps Fight Energy Hunger in Southern Africa

ACP-IDN

This website is a joint project of the Secretariat of the ACP Group of States and IDN, a flagship agency of the International Press Syndicate (INPS) and its partner, the Global Cooperation Council. It serves as a source for development news and monitoring Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

The ACP Group comprises: Sub-Saharan Africa (48), The Caribbean (16), The Pacific (15).

The ACP Group´s main objectives are:

Sustainable development of its Member-States and their gradual integration into the global economy, which entails making poverty reduction a matter of priority and establishing a new, fairer, and more equitable world order;

Coordination of the activities of the ACP Group in the framework of the implementation of ACP-EC Partnership Agreements;

Consolidation of unity and solidarity among ACP States, as well as understanding among their peoples;

Establishment and consolidation of peace and stability in a free and democratic society.

 

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This website – launched on July 1, 2016 – is a joint project of the Secretariat of the ACP Group of States and IDN, a flagship agency of the International Press Syndicate (INPS) and its partner, the Global Cooperation Council. It serves as a source for development news and monitoring Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

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