ACP Group of States

Photo: Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs Ambassador Amina Mohamed paid a visit to ACP Secretary General Dr. Patrick Gomes in June 2015.

Moving from Decision to Action on Sustainable Development

Viewpoint by Dr. Patrick I. Gomes

Following are excerpts from a statement ACP Secretary General Dr. Patrick I. Gomes delivered on behalf of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, at the 14th session of the Conference of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD XIV) on July 21, 2016 in Nairobi, Kenya.

BRUSSELS (IDN) - Since its establishment in 1964, UNCTAD has been the appropriate forum to ensure a comprehensive dialogue between developed and developing countries on trade and development and interrelated issues.

: Dr. Patrick Gomes - ACP Seretary-General; OPINION; 27 July 2016

Brexit Implications for 79 ACP Countries Yet Unknown

By Robert Johnson

LONDON (IDN) - The outcome of the Brexit referendum on June 23, 2016 has set the UK on a path to leave the European Union (EU) that will also result in an end to its membership of the bloc’s Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) the free trade deals between the European Union (EU) and the 79 countries of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group.

According to experts, while Brexit will have consequences for the UK, its impact on the ACP countries could be far reaching. Precisely how and in what ways was the subject of a brainstorming session of leading experts organized by the Ramphal Institute on July 15.

Named after Shridath "Sonny" Ramphal, second Commonwealth Secretary-General (1975-1990), the Ramphal Institute’s mandate is to tackle development issues and the wider world. So the focus was on Brexit and the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs).

: Robert Johnson; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 24 July 2016

Photo: Signing ceremony for exchange of letters between UNOSSC and ACP Secretariat. Credit: ACP

ACP Joins UN to Advance South-South Cooperation

By Rita Joshi

BERLIN | BRUSSELS (IDN) - The African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) have agreed to embark on concrete joint initiatives to foster South-South and triangular cooperation amongst their mutual constituencies, according to the ACP Press Office.

The ACP Secretary General Dr. Patrick I. Gomes and the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General for South-South Cooperation and UNOSSC Director Jorge Chediek exchange letters at the ACP headquarters in Brussels on July 11.

The agreement outlines the key areas of cooperation such as: fostering South-South and triangular cooperation among the two parties' mutual constituencies, as well with other developing countries to support intraregional and regional integration; and deepening institutional partnerships to scale up knowledge-sharing, showcasing and scaling up of development solutions, and technology transfer.

: Rita Joshi; UN INSIDER; 11 July 2016

Image: ACP Secretary General Dr. Gomes speaking at the European Development Days 2016 in June in Brussels. Credit: eudevdays.eu

ACP Group to Engage UK Early On Brexit Implications

By Roland Joshua

BRUSSELS (IDN) - The implications of BREXIT on the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group could be far-reaching and may give rise to many consequences for trade, services, investments and development finance assistance, according to ACP Secretary-General, Dr. P.I Gomes.

In each of these areas, the ACP-UK relations have been longstanding and mutually beneficial, not only for Caribbean countries and other Commonwealth member states, but for the ACP Group as a whole.

For instance, as a contributor of some 17% to the European Development Fund (EDF), the UK has been consistent in its support and has argued in favour of making the EDF less cumbersome in its regulations. “With the UK outside of the EDF Committee the ACP will lose an ally of great value,“ Dr. Gomes said.

: Ronald Joshua; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 03 July 2016

Photo: A view of the ACP Summit. Credit: CTA

79 Countries Crave Influential Role at the UN and Elsewhere

Analysis by Jaya Ramachandran

BERLIN | PORT MORESBY (IDN) - The heads of State and Government of 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries are asking the United Nations to take two important initiatives commended by their eighth Summit in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

The Group is calling for earliest adoption of a United Nations General Assembly Resolution to develop an international legal framework governing human rights and climate change with a view to protecting the human rights and interests of people displaced by impacts of climate change internally and across borders.

It is also proposing that a joint conference be convened by the UN and international financial institutions with the support of the European Commission and its Member States to discuss “strategies for financing multiannual development programmes of the ACP countries”.

: Jaya Ramachandran; UN INSIDER; 04 June 2016

Image: Venue of 8th ACP Conference in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

Papua New Guinea Hosts a ‘Pivotal’ Summit of 79 Diverse States

Analysis by Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | BRUSSELS (IDN) - Perhaps it would be an exaggeration to say that the world would never be the same again when leaders from the 79 countries of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States conclude their three-day “pivotal Summit” on June 1 in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea (PNG).

But top echelons of the bloc are determined to turn it into “a watershed event” that would discuss the future of the ACP Group as a revitalised cohesive force advocating the interests of its member states in the international arena.

They want it to provide the necessary political mandate to reorient the organisation, and offer a basis for more concrete engagement in discussions on the future of ACP-EU relations after 2020 when the Cotonou Agreement ends. The accord is named after the largest city and economic centre of Benin. Formal negotiations for a follow up framework of the Cotonou Agreement are expected to commence in 2017/2018.

: Ramesh Jaura; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 21 May 2016

Trade and Development Finance Top ACP Ministers’ Agenda

By International Press Syndicate

BRUSSELS (IDN) - Ministers representing African, Caribbean and Pacific countries will take key decisions when they gather in Dakar, Senegal, on April 25 to address sustainable economic development, trade and political issues in ACP countries, reports the ACP Press Office.

The Senegal Prime Minister Mohammed Dionne will open the 103rd session of the ACP Council of Ministers on April 26. The three-day programme from April 25 to 27 will include preparatory meetings of the Development Finance Committee, ministerial consultations on commodities (sugar, cotton, bananas), and the plenary session chaired by Leon Raphaël Mokoko, the Minister of Planning and Integration of the Republic of Congo.

The ACP Council of Ministers will lead into the 41st session of the ACP-EU Joint Council of Ministers on April 28-29, which will be officially opened by the President Macky Sall of Senegal.

: Opinion Editor; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 24 April 2016

Photo: President of the 69th Session of the UN General Assembly & Foreign Minister of Uganda, Samuel Kutesa, with ACP Secretary-General Dr Patrick Gomes, in Brussels. Credit: ACPPhoto: 2014-2015 President of the UN General Assembly & Foreign Minister of Uganda, Samuel Kutesa, with meets ACP Secretary-General Dr Patrick Gomes. Credit: ACP

EU-ACP – A force for South-South & Triangular Cooperation

Viewpoint by Dr. Patrick Gomes*

BRUSSELS (IDN) - Development cooperation in the 21st century is compelled to move beyond the simplistic paradigm of transferring funds from the developed North to the developing South.

With the global endorsement of Agenda 2030, including new modes of development finance, the proliferation of actors, and the rise of emerging economies, the traditional “donor – recipient” aid paradigm needs to be buried.

The long-standing and comprehensive North-South approach to development cooperation between the 28-member EU and 78 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, could well have invaluable horizons for innovation and enhanced development effectiveness.

: Dr. Patrick Gomes - ACP Seretary-General; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 14 April 2016

High-level Talks in Brussels to Adopt ACP Climate Action Plan

By Reinhardt Jacobsen

BRUSSELS (IDN) – In an unprecedented move, representatives from the 79 member states of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group are meeting with top officials from the United Nations agencies as well as other influential international and regional groupings to accelerate work towards implementing the historic Paris Agreement on climate change.

High level participants in the gathering in Brussels on March 22-23 include: the European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy, Miguel Cañete, who will deliver the keynote address; UN Environment Programme Director Achim Steiner; the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director General José Graziano Da Silva; and Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Petteri Taalas.

: Reinhardt Jacobsen; UN INSIDER; 18 March 2016

40th session of the ACP Parliamentary Assembly on December 4, 2015 in Brussels. Credit: ACP

ACP and EU Pave the Way for a Crucial Meeting in Senegal

BERLIN | BRUSSELS (IDN) - The future of relations between the ACP Group of 79 countries and the 28-nation EU after 2020, when the current partnership agreement comes to a close, promises to be a critical issue for the Joint Council of Ministers gathering in Senegal’s capital Dakar on April 28-29.

Though, according to the draft agenda endorsed by representatives of member states of the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change will draw the focus of the upcoming meeting.

The Council is the highest decision-making body of the ACP-EU Partnership under a legally-binding framework encompassing trade, political dialogue and development cooperation between the two groups of countries.