Brussels, 30 March 2016/ ACP: A two-day meeting of the ACP Sub-Committee on Sustainable Development ended with a draft action plan for 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific Member States for the period 2016-2020, aimed at strengthening the global response to climate change in the context of sustainable development and the efforts to reduce poverty.

At the event on 22-23 March chaired by the Ambassador of Namibia Dr. Kaire Mbuende, representatives of key institutions underscored the need for action in the wake of COP21’s landmark success, as well as the necessary support for these actions to succeed.

Brussels, 24 March 2016/ ACP:  Newly appointed Ambassadors to the European Union from the Republics of Niger and Rwanda were formally presented to the Committee of Ambassadors of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States last Thursday, during which they asserted their strong commitment to achieve common objectives and the reinforcement of the ACP Group.

H.E Mr Ousmane Alhassane Abba from Niger, who began his diplomatic career in 1986, previously served as Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Niger to the United Nations in New York and more recently at the Embassy of Niger in Paris.

Brussels, 22 March 2016/ ACP: South-South cooperation amongst developing countries in the global South is gaining momentum in the international community as a complement to North-South development assistance. Along with Triangular Cooperation, which brings in one or more traditional donors into the equation, its potential to promote innovation, collaboration and self reliance amongst countries has been widely recognised as effective in helping to achieve development goals.

Brussels 22 March 2016: Outpsoken Gambian politician Hon. Netty Baldeh presided for the first time over the African, Caribbean and Pacific Parliamentary Assembly on 15 March, since his appointment as Chair as well as Co-President of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly last December.

Known for his frank, straight-talking approach to discussions, Hon. Baldeh is an experienced parliamentarian in ACP-EU matters, which covers trade, political dialogue and development cooperation between the European Union and 78 African, Caribbean and Pacific states.

Brussels, 7 March 2016: The ACP-EU TradeComII programme kicked off operations earlier this year, aimed at strengthening trade capacity in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

Funded by the European Union, through the ACP-EU partnership, the TradeComII programme builds upon the former TradeCom Facilty and ACP Multilateral Trading System programmes that were implemented during the period of 2004 to 2012 and 2009 to 2014 respectively.

Brussels, 3 March 2016/ ACP: The Ambassador Mozambique to the European Union, H.E Mrs. Ana Nemba Uaiene (pictured, seated) signed the Joint Undertaking on Administrative Cooperation for the Implementation of Cumulation Provisions contained in the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) signed between ACP regions/countries and the EU, at the ACP headquarters on 2 March 2016.

With the signature, Mozambique will be party to the implementation of cumulation provisions amongst countries that have signed Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) with the EU.

Brussels, 3 March 2016: Ambassadors of African, Caribbean and Pacific countries in Brussels will soon examine the draft report of Eminent Persons regarding the future of the ACP Group, at a special meeting on the topic slated for 21 March.

The 12-member Eminent Persons Group (EPG), chaired by the former President of Nigeria Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, was created in 2013 and charged with reviewing the ACP Group as an organisation, including its successes and failures, and to provide recommendations for reforms in the future.