Introduction:

Equatorial Guinea and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States took a significant step forward to establish the ACP Information Centre for South-South and Triangular Cooperation when they signed the Headquarters Agreement on 9 August 2019 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. The Signing Ceremony followed the symbolic launch of the Centre last year in Malabo on 5 October. The Centre will be the first ACP permanent representation in an ACP Member State.

See below for the Address by ACP Secretary General, H.E. Patrick I. Gomes at the Signing Ceremony.

Brussels, 08 August 2019: The Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States has announced that the 9^th ACP Summit of Heads of State and Government will take place from 9 to 10 December 2019 in Nairobi, Kenya. The Summit is themed “A Transformed ACP: Committed to Multilateralism” and will be preceded by Ministerial Sessions from 6 to 8 December at the same venue.

Brussels 6 August 2019/ACP: The ACP Group of States was recently invited to give evidence before the House of Commons International Trade Select Committee to speak about the movement of natural persons in the delivery of temporary services (Mode 4 of services supply). 

Assistant Secretary General, Sustainable Economic Development and Trade, Mr. Viwanou Gnassounou recently participated in the 5^th Edition of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Entrepreneurship Forum, held from 26-27 July in Abuja, Nigeria. ASG Gnassounou was a panelist in a plenary session on Africapitalism which aimed to show the difference between good business practice and philanthropy; illustrate the government’s role in creating an enabling environment and give insight into how business leaders and policymakers see their roles in Africa’s sustainable development.

On behalf of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States and the Secretariat, Dr. Patrick I. Gomes, Secretary General of the ACP Group of States conveys his deepest condolences to the family and friends, the Government and People of the Republic of Kenya, particularly the people of Bomet County following the death of their Governor, Dr. Joyce Laboso, on Monday 29 July 2019.

Brussels – Deepened engagement between national and regional authorities on migration in the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries emerged as one of the most promising practices in the concluding analysis of a five-year, intra-ACP programme funded by the European Union and implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

“We have seen how regional and inter-regional peer-to-peer meetings boosted regional and South-South cooperation. They enabled all involved to share experiences and good practices around remittances, trafficking in human beings and smuggling of migrants, visas and cooperation on mobility,” said Jill Helke, IOM Director of International Partnerships and Cooperation.

Brussels, 1^st July 2019

The EU and Mercosur announced the conclusion of a free trade agreement on 28 June 2019, twenty years in the making, now subject to "legal scrubbing" and possibly minor adjustments.

The ACP Group deeply regrets that it was not consulted fully on the context and content of this Free Trade Agreement as per Article 12 of the Cotonou Agreement.