Speaking to journalists today, Dr Chambas declared 2012 to be a R20;year of restorationR21;, underlining plans to enhance the ACP as a R20;forward-looking international organisation.R21;
In 2012, the Group will focus on strengthening South-South solidarity and collaboration, intensifying attention on the Millennium Development Goals, advancing sustainable development programmes in ACP communities, and boosting the collective voice of ACP countries and their role as a group in the global arena.
R20;The ACP Council of Ministers took the decision late last year to hold the 7th ACP Heads of State Summit in 2012. A theme has yet to be set, although a task force has been appointed to mobilise preparations for this meeting. As the ACP has not had a Heads of State Summit since 2008, we will certainly have a lot to talk about,R21; remarked the Secretary General.
Key achievements for the Group in 2011 include the first ever symposium on South-South relations between the ACP and IBSA states R11; India, Brazil and South Africa, which led to a Memorandum of Understanding signed last December between the ACP Secretariat and Brazil to promote technical cooperation and dialogue.
R20;As well as remaining a true partner of Europe, we do wish to deepen our relationships amongst ACP states, as well as other developing countries which share our goals of alleviating poverty, and promoting the effective, fair and gradual integration of our nations into the world trade system.R21;
Since early last year, an ACP Ambassadorial Working Group on the Future Perspectives of the ACP Group began its work to consolidate a long term direction for the Group. With support from the UNDP, a report is being prepared outlining alternative future scenarios for the ACP family of nations.
The ACP includes 79 member states with a combined population of around 980 million. Forty are Least Developed Countries (out of 48 globally) and 36 Small Island Developing States. All but one are signatories to the Cotonou Agreement (ACP-EC Partnership Agreement) with the European Union.
For further enquiries: Josephine Latu, Press Attachée +32-2-743 0617 or email: latu@acp.int
About the ACP Group
The ACP Group (http://www.acp.int) has been one of the most enduring institutions in the landscape of international economic diplomacy. It is the largest trans-national intergovernmental organisation of developing countries in the international system. Its 79 member countries from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacificare bound together by a shared sense of history and a common vision of the future. Today, the main goal of the Group is to drive North-South as well as South-South cooperation for the sustainable development of ACP countries and their successful integration into the world economy, leading to a more equitable world order. Originally brought together as a result of the Association Clause in the Rome Treaty of 1957, which established the European Common Market, the Georgetown Agreement of 1975 formally established the ACP Group as an intergovernmental association. Based in EuropeR17;s capital city of Brussels, the ACP Group has a Secretariat that coordinates its activities and provides a rallying point for its meetings and development agendas.
African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States – Avenue Georges Henri 451, 1200 Brussels, BELGIUM Telephone: +32-2-743 06 00 Fax: +32-2-735 55 73 E-mail: info@acp.int Website: www.acp.int
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