Secretary General - Assistant Secretaries General - Distinguished Ambassadors - Distinguished ladies and gentlemen.  Let me start by expressing sincere gratitude to my Colleague CARIFORUM Ambassadors for their unwavering support to Saint Lucia as it assumes chairmanship of the ACP Council of Ministers. I also am grateful to Colleague ACP Ambassadors for the trust that you have bestowed on me by allowing me to serve this Committee as its Chairperson for the next six months.

Brussels, 15 February, 2012/ ACP: The Prime Minister of Somalia H.E Abdiweli Mohamed Ali will make a presentation to the Committee of Ambassadors of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP Group) on Monday afternoon, 20^th February, in Brussels, on his way to the London-Somali conference scheduled for the 23^rd.

Bruxelles, le 9 fevrier 2012/ ACP: Le Secrétaire Général du Groupe des États d’Afrique, des Caraïbes et du Pacifique (ACP), S.E. Dr.

GEORGETOWN, Guyana, 9 February 2012/ CARICOM: Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Member States and Chile have committed to intensifying political dialogue and cooperation as part of efforts towards sustainable development, and the improvement of the well-being of their peoples.

Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press, Invited guests, colleagues and friends. I am delighted to welcome you all to ACP House, or, as we say where I come from, Akwaaba! The fact that you have been able to honour our invitation this morning shows not only your level of interest in the work that we do here but also in the ideals of solidarity and cooperation which inform our longstanding relations with Europe.

Gaborone, 5 February 2012/ Government of Botswana - The Government of the Republic of Botswana has been closely monitoring the political situation in Syria and notes with grave concern the latest deplorable decision by Russia and China to veto the UN Security Council resolution which fully supported the Arab League’s Peace Plan to the ongoing bloody violence in that country.

Brussels, 5 February 2012: The 79-member African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States has shown its strong support for efforts towards an Africa-wide free trade area - the key focus of the recent African Union summit for Heads of State, held 23 to 30 January in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Brussels, 4 February 2012/ EU - The European Commission has recently adopted a Communication that outlines how the EU's trade, investment and development policies can work hand-in-hand to support poverty reduction as well as inclusive and sustainable growth in developing

First address of the year from the ACP Secretary General, H.E. Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas

9h30 Registration and Coffee/ 10h00 Press Briefing