Brussels 25 April 2019/ACP: Despite progress, African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries still face major challenges: in Africa, increased integration reinforces the need for better cross-border coordination; in the Caribbean, the vulnerability of its small open economies has become more pronounced and in the Pacific, island countries continue to face development challenges related to their remoteness and adaptation to climate change. 

''The truly compelling lesson of this journey is how critical it is to pool our resources: political, economic and intellectual in negotiating with countries beyond ourselves: globally, in Europe, in the Hemisphere.''

Opening remarks by Sir Shridath Ramphal on the process of unification for the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States at the Inter-Regional High-Level Consultation in Barbados on 26 February 2019.

Mr Chairman -

Kingston (Jamaica), 15 April 2019/ACP:  As the EU is working to modernise its relations with 79 countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP), chief negotiators Neven Mimica and Robert Dussey met with ACP Caribbean leaders for a dedicated dialogue on the regional EU-Caribbean pillar in the framework of the post Cotonou ACP-EU partnership.

Today's discussions form part of broader regional consultations and are focused on the Caribbean’s specific needs and priorities for the coming years. The outcome will guide the negotiators’ work in creating a tailor-made EU-Caribbean partnership within the future ACP-EU agreement. 

Brussels 11 April 2019/ACP: The African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States welcomed two new arrivals to their midst at the 919th Meeting of the ACP Committee of Ambassadors, H.E. Mrs. Sena Siaw-Boateng, Ambassador of the Republic of Ghana and H.E. Ms. Maria O’Brien, Ambassador of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas.

Brussels 10 April 2019/ACP: Minister for National Planning and Monitoring of Papua New Guinea, Hon. Richard Maru, has assured the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group that Papua New Guinea will continue to play an active role in the affairs of the ACP Group of States.

Minister Maru met the ACP Secretary General, Dr. Patrick Gomes, at the margins of the ACP-EU Ministerial Meeting in N’Djamena, Capital of the Republic of Chad, Central Africa, on 3 April where they discussed, among other things, Papua New Guinea’s role in the current ACP-EU post-Cotonou negotiations.

Brussels 08 April 2019/ACP: Today the ACP Secretariat joins with the Embassy of Rwanda to mark the 25th anniversary of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide against the Tutsi. And as custom for the ACP Group in the last 15 years, we have made this commemoration a key event in our calendar.  Today our thoughts are with the victims of this atrocious tragedy and our prayers are with the survivors who are true heroes among us as they continue to inspire us with their strength, resilience and determination.

Brussels, 4 April 2019/ACP:  Today, chief negotiators emphasised the progress made while launching the next phase of the negotiations. This new step will ultimately lead to the creation of tailor-made pillars with each region, which are among the novelties to be introduced in the future ACP-EU Agreement.

Brussels, 02 April 2019/ACP: This week signals the start of a EUR 12 million project designed to build the resilience of 15 Pacific countries to threats posed by climate change, which Pacific Island Forum leaders have repeatedly identified as the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security and well-being of the peoples of the Pacific. 

Brussels, 02 April 2019/ACP: Namibia has reaffirmed its commitment to the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) and European Union (EU) partnership and says it will do all it can to honour and work toward the commitments embodied in the Cotonou Agreement and post-Cotonou when it expires in 2020. This was the message by Minister of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development of the Republic of Namibia and President of the ACP Council of Ministers, Tjekero Tweya, when he spoke at the 37TH session of ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly that took place in Bucharest, Romania.