By ACP Press
BRUSSELS (IDN) – The Ambassador of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, Mr. Joshua Kalinoe will preside over the Committee of Ambassadors (CoA) of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States in Brussels for the period August 1, 2019 – January 31, 2020.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Papua New Guinea, Mr. Soroi Eoe, will assume the presidency of the ACP Council of Ministers.
In a handover ceremony on July 26, 2019, Ambassador Kalinoe noted that this was a crucial moment when several important events and major documents of relevance to the group are under preparation.
He outlined these to be the areas he intends to address, namely the negotiation of a new partnership agreement with the European Union; the finalization of the review of the Georgetown Agreement; the renewal of the ACP Secretariat’s Senior Management and the preparation of the 9th ACP Summit of Heads of States and Government that will take place in December in Nairobi, Kenya.
In addition, he stated that his tenure would also focus on partnership diversification that reinforces South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) and enhancing Intra-ACP Trade.
In addition to the Chair, the incoming Bureau is comprised of the Ambassadors of Rwanda, Mr. Amandin Rugira (East Africa); Republic of Guinea, Dr. Ousmane Sylla (West Africa); Republic of Congo, Mr. Léon Raphaël Mokoko (Central Africa); Republic of Botswana, Samuel Otsile Outlule (Southern Africa); The Bahamas, Ms. Maria O’Brien (Caribbean) and Vanuatu, Mr. John Licht (Pacific).
Members of the outgoing Bureau are Ambassadors of Namibia, Dr. Kaire M. Mbuende (Chair); Suriname, Ms. Sieglien Burleson (Caribbean); The Gambia (West Africa), Mrs. Jaiteh Teneng Mba; The Republic of Congo, Mr. Léon Raphael Mokoko (Central Africa); Mauritius, Mr. Haymandoyal Dillum (East Africa); Tuvalu, Mr. Aunese Makoi Simati (Pacific) and Botswana, H.E. Mr.Samuel Otsile Outlule (Southern Africa).
Summarizing his term at the helm of the CoA, the outgoing Chair, Ambassador Kaire Mbuende of Namibia thanked his colleague Bureau members for their useful contributions to the work of the ACP Group. He expressed satisfaction with the work they had accomplished and acknowledged the support of the Secretariat throughout their successful tenure.
Secretary General of the ACP Group, Dr. Patrick Gomes thanked the outgoing Bureau for steering the Group over the previous six months from February 1 to July 31, 2019. He welcomed the new Bureau and pledged the continued assistance of the Secretariat.
The CoA is an important decision-making body of the ACP Group of States. It is comprised of one representative from each of the Group’s 79 member countries. It meets at least one a month in Brussels to monitor the implementation of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement and carry out any mandate tasked to it by the ACP Council of Ministers.
Much of its work is carried out through six technical sub-committees (on Political, Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Affairs; Trade and Commodities; Investment and the Private Sector; Sustainable Development; Financing and Development; and Establishment and Finance), as well as ad-hoc working groups and task forces. [IDN-InDepthNews – 27 July 2019]
Photo: New Committee of Ambassadors of the ACP Group.
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