ACP PRESS RELEASE 14 December 2010 – African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group, Secretary-General Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas during a visit to The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) emphasized the important role it plays in the ACP states and encouraged the organization to continue its good work.
During a one-day visit to The Netherlands based orgnisation on December 13 2010, the ACP chief, in a brief address to the staff, underlined the significant contribution that the CTA plays, especially in technical and policy areas. CTA is an ACP-EU institution working in the field of information for development. It operates under the ACP-EU Cotonou Agreement and was set up, in 1984. It was given the challenging task of improving the flow of information among stakeholders in agricultural and rural development in the ACP countries.
Dr Chambas said he was happy to visit CTA, which he referred to as a strategic player in the field of agriculture information in engaging with the stakeholders of ACP at all levels. He said the CTA is an important technical arm of the ACP Group which gives technical advice and policy direction for its members.
Dr Chambas recalled that the food crises in 2008, especially in ACP countries, highlighted the need to look seriously at steps to achieve food security an area in which the CTA plays a pivotal role in setting policy directions. Meanwhile, CTA Director Mr. Michael Hailu and his management team took the opportunity to brief the Secretary-General of the organisation’s Strategic Plan 2011-2015 and the overview of the main activities.
Dr Chambas acknowledged that the meeting was important as it allowed him to be briefed on the developments at the CTA and look at ways to effectively cooperate with the ACP Secretariat. He said that it is important that the ACP and CTA work together to effectively serve the peoples of the ACP Group. For further enquiries contact:
iroga@acp.int