ACP Group of States

Photo: Group photo of ACP-EU parliamentarians in Bucharest. Source: Website of Jacob L. Oulanyah

Parliamentarians Demand 'Greater Presence' of ACP-EU Compact at the UN

By Robert Johnson

BRUSSELS (IDN) – Parliamentarians of the compact of more than 105 countries of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group and the European Union (EU) are demanding "a greater presence" at the United Nations (UN). As a minimum, an ACP-EU coordination unit should have a seat at the UN, says a landmark resolution of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly held in Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It also pleads for "permanent ACP-EU working mechanisms across UN special agencies and other global institutions to enhance the global visibility of the ACP-EU partnership."

: Robert Johnson; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 06 April 2019

Photo: ACP Secretary-General Dr. P. I. Gomes (right). ACP Chief Negotiator Robert Dusse, Togo's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Africa integration. Credit: robertdussey.com

EU-ACP Countries Conclude 2nd Round of Talks on a New Ambitious Partnership

By ACP Press

BRUSSELS | N'DJAMENA (ACP-IDN) – Chief negotiators of the African. Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries and the European Union (EU) have underlined the progress made while launching the next phase of the negotiations for a new treaty after the Cotonou Partnership Agreement signed in 2000 ends in 2020.

The Cotonou Agreement is one of the oldest and most comprehensive frameworks of cooperation between the EU and third countries. It focuses on the eradication of poverty and inclusive sustainable development for countries of the two groups. It is divided into three key action areas: development co-operation, political dialogue and trade.

: Robert Johnson; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 05 April 2019

Sustainable Wildlife Management Program Launches Newsletter

By ACP Press

BRUSSELS (ACP-IDN) – Recent studies have shown that overhunting for wild meat is threatening hundreds of wildlife species with extinction, with the result that many indigenous peoples and rural communities are deprived of food and income.

An initiative of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States, the Sustainable Wildlife Management (SWM) Programme, established to tackle these challenges, has published their first newsletter to bring attention to these issues.

: UN Bureau; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 05 April 2019

Photo: Participants in the April 1-3 meeting in Apia. Credit: SPREP

15 Pacific States Build Resilience to Climate Change

By Reinhard Jacobsen

BRUSSELS | APIA, Samoa (ACP-IDN) – Leaders of the Pacific Island Forum, the region’s premier political and economic policy organisation, have repeatedly identified climate change as the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and well-being of the peoples of the Pacific. A three-day meeting, concluded on April 3 in Apia, Samoa, marked a major milestone in helping to build Pacific island resilience to this threat with the start of a EUR 12 million project spanning 15 countries.

: Reinhard Jacobsen; THE WORLD; Asia-Pacific; 04 April 2019

Moving the ACP Group to Centre Stage of Multilateralism

Viewpoint by Dr. Patrick I. Gomes

The writer is the Secretary-General of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP).

BRUSSELS (IDN) – In today’s global situation that bears the features of turbulence, fragility and an increasingly precarious balance between peace and possible nuclear annihilation, the role and relevance of the United Nations Organisation has assumed unparalleled importance.

It was a perceptive comment of the late Nelson Mwalimu Mandela, who in his landmark speech to the United Nations on October 3, 1994, posed the question and demanded a response to what he considered to be the enduring imperative confronting the United Nations today, more than ever.

: Dr. Patrick Gomes; OPINION; 31 March 2019

Photo: Parliament building (west wing) in Bridgetown, Barbados. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

ACP Countries Urged to Intensify Cooperation to Confront Global Challenges

By Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC)

The original report by CMC has been slightly modified.- The Editor

BRUSSELS | BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (ACP-IDN) – A two-day inter-regional high level consultation on comparative regionalism in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific (ACP) began here on March 26, 2019 with Barbados underscoring the need for the 79-member grouping to build a strong, vibrant and energetic relationship among themselves especially in a changing global environment.

: Robert Johnson; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 27 March 2019

Image: Cover of joint ACP Group-UNOSSC report. Source: ACP

Landmark Report Stresses Importance of South-South and Triangular Cooperation

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK | BUENOS AIRES (IDN) – South-South and triangular cooperation has triggered over decades the vigorous economic growth of countries of the global South such as Brazil, China, India and the Gulf States, and proved to be an important solution for many of today’s development challenges. It should, therefore, be seen as a critical complement to North-South cooperation, says a new report by the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP Group) and the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC).

: Santo D. Banerjee; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 26 March 2019

Photo: Tjekero Tweya, Namibia's Minister of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development of the Republic of Namibia, and President of the ACP Council of Ministers addressing the 37th session of ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) in Bucharest. Source: New Era Live.

Post-2020 ACP-EU Partnership Expected to be Unique

By Edgar Brandt, New Era Live

WINDHOEK (ACP-IDN) – Namibia has reaffirmed its commitment to the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) and European Union (EU) partnership and says it will do all it can to honour and work toward the commitments embodied in the Cotonou Agreement and post-Cotonou when it expires in 2020.

This was the message by Minister of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development of the Republic of Namibia and President of the ACP Council of Ministers, Tjekero Tweya, when he spoke at the 37th session of ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) March 18-20 in Bucharest, Romania.

: Robert Johnson; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 21 March 2019

Photo: The 37th plenary of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) was formally opened on 18 March in Bucharest, Romania. Credit: ACP Press

ACP-EU Parliamentarians Confer on Crucial Issues in Bucharest

By Robert Johnson

BRUSSELS | BUCHAREST (ACP-IDN) – Migration, rule of law, climate change, ACP-EU relations beyond 2020, renewable energies and education were among issues discussed at the 37th ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) in Bucharest.

From March 18 to 20, 2019, the Assembly brought together Members of the European Parliament and representatives from developing countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific in Bucharest, Romania.

: Robert Johnson; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 21 March 2019

Photo: Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland addresses parliamentarians from 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) and 28 European Union (EU) countries at the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly in Bucharest.

Commonwealth Offers Closer Cooperation to Help ACP Group Realise ‘Full Potential’

By Robert Johnson

BRUSSELS | BUCHAREST (ACP-IDN) – Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland has reaffirmed the 53-nation group's support for the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States, while urging deeper collaboration to boost their trade and development potential.

She was addressing the 37th session of the ACP and European Union (EU) Joint Parliamentary Assembly on the impact of Brexit on ACP-EU Partnership in Bucharest, Romania. The Assembly aims to promote greater dialogue, cooperation and understanding among ACP and EU countries.