STATEMENT BY THE ORGANISATION OF AFRICAN, CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC STATES (OEACP) ON THE OCCASION OF THE 27TH COMMEMORATION OF THE 1994 GENOCIDE AGAINST THE TUTSIS IN RWANDA

Brussels, 30 March 2021/OACPS:  Over 160 participants from Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) regions and Europe gathered online to take part in the official launch of the Intra-ACP Climate Services and Related Applications Programme (ClimSA).

Brussels, 31 March 2021/OACPS/JPA: In a virtual Bureau meeting of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly on 30 March 2021, Co-Presidents Hon. Carlos Zorrinho, Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group, Portugal and Hon. Faumuina Liuga (Member of Parliament, Samoa), expressed their serious concerns over the escalating violence in the Northern Province of Mozambique, Cabo Delgado in reaction to the brutal attacks last week on the Mozambican town of Palma.

Brussels, 23 March 2021/OACPS: World Meteorological Day (WMD) is marked on 23 March every year, to showcase the essential contribution of National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) to the safety and wellbeing of society. This year, in cognisance of the Ocean’s central role in our climate system, #WorldMeteorologicalday, themed, “The ocean, our climate and weather”, marks the start of the United Nations (UN) Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030).

Brussels, 18 March 2021/OACPS: Secretary-General of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), H.E. Mr Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti, presented Dr Mekondjo Kaapanda-Girnus, Ambassador of the Republic of Namibia to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Netherlands, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Mission to the European Union, to the OACPS Committee of Ambassadors (CoA) at their 936^th session.

Brussels, 15 March 2021/OACPS: The Secretary-General of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), H.E. Mr Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti, has endorsed the candidate proposed by the European Union (EU), MEP Dr Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, MD, PhD of France, for the post of Co-Chair of the COVAX Facility Shareholders Council, following a recent meeting of the Bureau of the Committee of Ambassadors.

Brussels, 10 March 2021/OACPS: Secretary-General H.E. Mr Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti, in a video message at the opening of the Joint Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat – International Trade Centre (PIFS-ITC) Symposium on Trade Finance, highlighted several trade-related activities of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS).

Highlighting the importance of the private sector as a main development actor, the OACPS Secretary-General touched on key aspects of the OACPS’ trade policy, ending his presentation with three initiatives of special interest to the Pacific region.

Brussels, 09 March 2021/OACPS: Sixty small and medium-sized mining and quarry operators have benefited from entrepreneurial skills training to better enable their businesses to survive and thrive, through training conducted by the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) under the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States-European Union (OACPS-EU) Development Minerals Programme Phase II.

STATEMENT BY H.E. MR. GEORGES REBELO PINTO CHIKOTI, SECRETARY-GENERAL OF THE ORGANISATION OF AFRICAN, CARIBBEAN AND PACIFIC STATES (OACPS) ON THE OCCASION OF INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY 2021

Brussels, 08 March 2021/OACPS: The Secretariat of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) is deeply saddened to learn of the untimely demise of Dr. Henry Okole on 5 March 2021, former Chief of Staff for the then Secretary-General, Sir John Rumet Kaputin, during the period 2005-2010.

A citizen of Papua New Guinea (PNG), Dr. Okole was appointed to the post of Director for the National Coordination Office for Bougainville Affairs in 2020. A former academic at the University of Papua New Guinea, he was also a senior Research Fellow with the PNG National Research Institute.