The Deputy Prime Minister, Honourable Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, led the Samoa delegation to the 107^th Session of ACP Council of Ministers and the 43^rd Meeting of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers, held in Lome, Togo from 27 May to 1 June 2018.

The key item on Council’s agenda concerns the negotiating mandate for the ACP Group to guide its relations with the EU post-2020.  Before the commencement of the regular session of Council, Ministers met in special session to further enhance and provide guidance on the draft document as recommended by the Committee of Ambassadors.  Subsequently, during its regular session held on 30 May 2018, the ACP Council of Ministers adopted by acclamation the negotiating mandate.   By taking this decision, the ACP Council of Ministers has sent out a clear signal of its resolve to negotiate a new agreement with the EU as a single entity in unity and solidarity.   The Deputy Prime Minister presented the Pacific position on future negotiations with the EU during the plenary.

Council also mandated the Committee of Ambassadors to commence negotiations with the EU in accordance with the provisions of Article 95(4) of the Cotonou Agreement and to disseminate the mandate to all relevant stakeholders.

On the EU side, the expectation is that they will reach a decision on their mandate mid-June 2018 before the official launch of negotiations and the exchange of memoranda.

The ACP Council also took decisions as follows:

1. Approve the offer by Equatorial Guinea to host the ACP Information Centre for South-South and Triangular Cooperation;
2. Adopt the ACP Policy Guidelines on Voluntary Contributions;
3. Mandate the Committee of Ambassadors to continue its work on the review of the Georgetown Agreement and report to the 108^th Session of Council;
4. Endorse the ACP-EU Joint Declaration on Climate Change;
5. Mandate the Committee of Ambassadors to review the continuing relevance of existing sanctions and instruct the Secretary-General to strictly apply the existing approved sanctions on ACP countries in arrears;
6. Mandate the Committee of Ambassadors to finalise the selection criteria on hosting the signing ceremony for the post-Cotonou Agreement and report to the December session of the ACP Council; and
7. Mandate the ACP Group to engage with the EU on tax matters in light of the listing of ACP countries by the EU with a view to securing better outcomes. To this end to also agree on the establishment of a contact group to deal with the matter.

The Council of Ministers also adopted Resolutions on the “ACP Agricultural Value Chains Development” and “Industrialization and Private Sector Development”.

Honourable Fiame also took the opportunity to engage in bilateral meetings with the Foreign Ministers of Togo, the EU Commissioner for Development, Mr Mimica and the Secretary of Romania, who will be the incoming President of the EU.

At the ACP-EU Council level, the 43^rd Session approved the ACP-EU Declaration on Climate Change thereby sending a clear and powerful signal to the international community of the commitment of 117 countries from the ACP Group and the European Union to the implementation of the Paris Agreement.  Also during the joint sessions, at the Ministerial Development Finance Cooperation Committee and Council levels, the Deputy Prime Minister in her capacity as the Pacific ACP Coordinator, intervened on a number of issues including the mid-term review of the 11^th EDF, the operations of the Investment Facility managed by the European Bank and on the subject of “Vulnerability and Disaster Risk Reduction”.

Samoa’s Ambassador to Europe, H.E. Fatumanava III Dr Pa’olelei Luteru was also part of the Delegation.