Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 7 April 2017/ ACP: The President of Burkina Faso H.E. Roch Marc Christian Kaboré committed to become a champion for the development of the cotton sector in Africa, rounding off a ‘Cotton Week’ full of activity jointly organised by the ACP Secretariat and the Government of Burkina Faso from the 27th – 31st March.

Lomé, Togo, 7 April 2017/ COLEACP/ ACP: National and regional talks on enhancing the West African fruit and vegetable sector while boosting exports, took place in Lomé, Togo from 4-6 April, co-organised by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Water Resources of the Republic of Togo, the ACP Secretariat and the COLEACP.

The workshops aimed to identify key factors for the development of successful fruit and vegetable sectors.

Brussels, 3 April 2017/ ACP: Seventy-nine countries from Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific will speak with one voice as they prepare to negotiate a major partnership framework with the European Union.

The new accord will follow on the current ACP-EU Partnership Agreement (also known as the Cotonou Agreement), which covers trade, development cooperation and political dialogue between the two parties until 2020.

Maputo, Mozambique, 3 April 2017/ DevMin/ ACP: Once neglected minerals and materials may hold the key to millions of jobs across Southern Africa at a time when oil and metal exporting countries are grappling with low commodity prices.

Brussels, 30 March 2017/ ACP: The Republics of Zimbabwe, Cameroon and Namibia have joined the growing number of ACP countries party to 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.

The Joint Undertaking allows cumulation provisions between countries that have signed the ACP Economic Partnership Agreements (EPA) with the EU, as well as with other non-signatory ACP countries benefitting from duty-free quota-free access into the EU.

Brussels, 30 March 2017/ ACP: The first ever joint prize for film by the European Union and the ACP Group of States was awarded to three African works at the Panafrican Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso (Festival panafricain du cinéma et de la télévision de Ouagadougou or FESPACO).

Brussels, 28 March 2017/ ACP: Representatives from the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States and the European Union have agreed on several major issues to discuss at the upcoming joint ministerial council meetings, scheduled for 4-5 May 2017 in Brussels.

Ambassadors and officials from both sides met in Brussels in March to elaborate on a common agenda that would guide the highest joint decision-making body in the ACP-EU partnership, during its 42^nd session. The Joint Council is expected to take decisions on the following items:

Brussels, 27 March 2017/ ACP: Climate change remains a major collective concern for African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, which are particularly vulnerable to its negative effects. A special meeting organised by the ACP Sub-Committee for Sustainable Development laid the groundwork for an enhanced ACP role at the COP23 global climate talks in Bonn, Germany this November.