The 9^th ACP Summit draft Declaration was considered and examined by the 110^th Session of the ACP Council of Ministers and a joint Council and Ministers of Foreign Affairs meeting held on 8^th December 2019.  The outcome of these deliberations by Ministers were then submitted to the 9^th Summit for the Heads of State and Government for consideration and endorsement.

In presenting the draft Declaration to the Summit, the representative of Samoa, H.E. Fatumanava III Dr Paolelei Luteru, informed Leaders of the rationale and principles that guided its preparation.  He highlighted the central theme, “A transformed ACP: Committed to Multilateralism”, as the Foundation, and the three sub-themes of Good Governance, Peace and Security; Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change; and Intra-ACP Cooperation through social and economic development; as the core pillars upon which the Declaration was premised. He also made the connections between the three sub-themes and their contribution to the attainment of the central theme of multilateralism.

The concerns raised by Ministers and the Summit were reflected and constituted the 3^rd pillar of the Declaration and speaks to the critical issue of self-reliance and financial sustainability of the Group as well as important role of ODA in energizing and catalysing the development aspirations and agendas of the ACP Group.  In recognition of its long-standing partnership with the EU, Leaders also called for current negotiations on a post-2020 ACP-EU Agreement to fully account for the challenges of climate change and the attainment of the SDGs.

The final part of the Declaration calls on the out-going Secretary-General to submit the Declaration to a number of key development partners including the EU and the UN Secretary-General for information and relevant engagement.   A commendation on the work undertaken by Dr Gomes during his mandate was also acknowledged by Leaders.

The 9^th Summit of ACP Heads of State and Government also approved and endorsed the following key strategic issues for the future:

• The revised Georgetown Agreement;
• The appointment of the next Secretary-General, H.E. Mr Georges Chikoti of Angola, for the period 1 March 2020 to 28 February 2025; and
• Launch the ACP Endowment and Trust Fund

The Papua New Guinea Deputy Prime Minister as well as the Foreign Minister led the Pacific Group as current out-going Chair of the 8^th Summit and current Chair of the ACP Group.