In a Consultative Meeting held in Brussels on 29 and 30 April 2013, at the ACP House to discuss the implementation of "The outcomes of Rio+20 Conference: now, up to and beyond 2015" the representatives of the ACP governments have decided to establish an ACP Ad-hoc Working Group on the Post-2015 Process.   The meeting focused on the critical elements for the development of the post-2015 overarching framework, which will be very important to eradicating poverty in ACP Member States.

Africa, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP)
PressRelease
Brussels, April 16^th 2013

The 3rd Meeting of ACP Ministers of Education has been opened this Wednesday, 10^th April 2013 at the ACP House in Brussels under the theme “Reflecting on ACP Cooperation objectives in Education within the post-2015 Development Agenda”.

In his opening remarks to welcome the ACP Ministers of Education, the ACP Secretary General, H.E. Alhaji Muhammad MUMUNI has underlined, among all the education challenges ACP countries have to face, a crisis of relevance.

In a special meeting held at the ACP General Secretariat in Brussels on April 7^th, 2013 to commemorate the 1994 Rwandan genocide, the ACP Group has released a special declaration. In his speech, the ACP Secretary General, HON. ALHAJI MUHAMMAD MUMUNI declared:

“It is important that we continue to commemorate this day in order not to forget one of the most heinous crimes against humanity perpetrated by one group of people against another. 

The next Brussels Development Briefing will tackle the topic of ‘Food, geography and traditions: Protecting agricultural traditional products’, by looking at the challenges and opportunities for protecting traditional knowledge and registered agricultural products in a sustainable way.

In a meeting held in Brussels on 17 and 18 April 2013, the ACP Ministers in charge of the ACP-EU Development Finance have expressed their regret for the 10% decrease of the EU financial envelope allocated to the cooperation with the ACP in the framework of the 11^th EDF European Development Funds  (2014-2020), compared to the EC initial proposal.

On an official visit to the ACP Committee of Ambassadors in Brussels on Tuesday, April 16^th, the Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia, H.E. Hailemariam Dessalegn, called on the European Union to be more understanding to the need of the ACP countries. He also stressed the need for a strengthening of the unity, the solidarity and the cooperation among ACP countries and regions. He proclaimed his optimism about Africa whose growth has reached an unprecedented level thanks to its attraction of foreign direct investments.

• By Obadiah Mailafia

Inauguration of the Eminent Persons Group in charge of the mechanism of rebuilding of the ACP Group & Designation of the ACP Secretary General, Hon. ALHAJI Muhammad MUMUNI, in replacement of Dr Mohamed Ibn CHAMBAS designated by the UN and the AU as their joint Special Envoy to Darfur

The ACP/LDC Sugar Suppliers to the EU express deep disappointment with the EU Agriculture Council’s proposal to extend the Single Common Market Organisation for sugar by only two years to 2017 instead of 2020 as agreed by the European Parliament.  In so doing the ACP/LDC countries join European Sugar Manufacturers Association (CEFS) and the European Beet Growers Federation (CIBE).