Brussels, 30 June 2016/ ACP: The question of what future arrangement will follow the historical ACP-EU Partnership Agreement when it expires in 2020, has ignited debate and deep reflections by the European Union as well as the ACP Group of 79 countries. The two blocs are party to the Cotonou Agreement, as it is also called, which binds them legally in a cooperation framework that covers trade, development cooperation and political dialogue.

Brussels, 30 June 2016/ Edulink/ ACP: On 5-6 July 2016, the Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP Secretariat) will be hosting a Joint Stakeholders’ Conference for the currently running projects from the following ACP-EU collaborative programmes:

• EDULINK II
• ACP Science and Technology Programme II

Brussels, 16 June 2016/ ACP: The role played by the longstanding partnership between the EU and the African, Caribbean and Pacific countries in boosting the momentum towards the historic Paris Agreement on Climate Change last year, was highlighted at a high level panel at Europe’s prime event on development, known as the European Development Days (EDD16).

Dakar, Senegal, 26 April, 2016/ ACP: A call to rally together behind key common issues and preserve solidarity when dealing with partners set the tone at the opening of the 103^rd session of the Council of Ministers of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States today.

The Council of Ministers will discuss several critical items before meeting with counterparts from the European Union on the 28^th and 29^th of April. This includes matters related to trade, development cooperation, and the future of the ACP Group, including its relations with the EU beyond 2020.

Brussels, 22 April 2016/ ACP: The Secretary General of African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, H.E. Dr. Patrick I. Gomes received the President of Mozambique H.E. Mr. Filipe Jacinto Nyusi during a courtesy call to the ACP House on Friday 22 April to discuss keys issues of common interest.

Speaking to the press at the end of the visit, the Mozambican President welcomed this opportunity to learn more about the work of the ACP Group, and to discuss how it can be strengthened to serve the interests of member states more effectively.

Brussels, 21 April 2016/ ACP: The Committee of Ambassadors of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States welcomed the new Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania to the EU, H.E. Abdellahi Bah Nagi Kebd at the ACP House on Thursday, 14^th April.

Ambassador Kebd, who had also presented his credentials to the King of Belgium on the same day, expressed his solidarity and commitment to the work programme of the ACP Group of States, given the many challenges at international and regional levels.

Brussels, 8 April 2016/ ACP: An important gathering at the ACP House in Brussels on 7^th April, hosted by the ACP Secretary General H.E. Dr. Patrick Gomes in the presence of ACP diplomats, the Rwandan diaspora in Belgium and friends of Rwanda, paid tribute to the victims of genocide that took place in Rwanda in 1994.

After calling for a minute of silence to remember the tragic loss of more than a million lives over the course of 100 days, the Secretary General condemned the genocide, committed under the hand of violent extremists, as a heinous crime against humanity.

Suva, Fiji, 5 April 2016/ CWC/ ACP: A series of workshops this week from 5 to 7 April at the Fiji Museum in Suva will connect artists across the Pacific to international networks. Led by Visiting Arts, in partnership with The Pacific Arts and Culture Foundation in Fiji, the initiative is supported by the ACP-EU Support Programme to ACP Cultural Sectors, known as ACPCultures+ .