DILI, 16 november 2023 (TATOLI) – The Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and its member states and the EU and its member states signed on Wednesday a new Partnership Agreement that will serve as an overarching legal framework for their relations for the next twenty years.
“This agreement will succeed the Cotonou Agreement and will be known as the “Samoa Agreement”. The agreement covers subjects such as sustainable development and growth, human rights, and peace and security,” said EU Council in a statement.
The agreement was signed in Samoa, on the sidelines of the 46th meeting of the Council of Ministers of the OEACP and the EU, which took place between 14 and 15 november, at a meeting led by the Prime Minister of Samoa, Fiame Naomi Mataʻafa.
The new agreement is made up of a common basis and regional protocols designed to meet the specific needs of the African, Caribbean, and Pacific regions and marks a new era of regional cooperation and shared aspirations. Timor-Leste joined the Cotonou Agreement in 2007.
Pilar Cancela Rodríguez, Secretary of State for International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Spain, who co-signed the Agreement on behalf of the EU said: “It is a great honour for us that the agreement can finally be signed during the Spanish Presidency of the Council, after years of work on both parts.”
“The new Samoa agreement will help both sides to better address global challenges together and will reinforce bilateral cooperation in a wide range of aspects, from climate to peace and security, in the upcoming two decades. This is a difficult time for joint global action and multilateral approach. But this agreement shows that very large and diverse groups of countries can agree on concrete steps to deepen their partnership for building a joint future. It makes me and the European Union that I represent here hopeful,” said Rodríguez.
Jutta Urpilainen, Commissioner for International Partnerships, EU chief negotiator who co-signed the Agreement on behalf of the EU also said that the agreement will provide a modernized framework to revitalize the OACPS-EU relations with the largest grouping of partner countries to provide a platform for dialogue and coordination to face the challenges together: “We will do everything to harness the collective power of our four regions. The EU and its Member States –as Team Europe – have launched ambitious investment packages under Global Gateway across all three regions and we push forward to implement these packages.”
“The new Partnership Agreement lays down common principles and covers the following priority areas: human rights, democracy and governance; peace and security; human and social development; inclusive, sustainable economic growth and development; environmental sustainability and climate change and migration and mobility,” said EU Council.
The 27 EU member states and the 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries together represent around 2 billion people and more than half of the seats at the United Nations. With this new Agreement, the Parties will be better equipped to address emerging needs and global challenges, such as climate change, ocean governance, migration, health, peace and security.
The ACP-EU partnership is one of the oldest and most comprehensive frameworks for cooperation between the EU and third countries.
The previous legal framework for the partnership, the Cotonou Agreement, was signed in 2000.
Journalist: Camilio de Sousa
Editor: Filomeno Martins
