Africa-Press – Angola. The secretary-general of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OEACP), Georges Chikoti, appealed this Monday, in Luanda, to member countries to ratify the Samoa Agreement with the European Union, which does not overlap to any national legislation.
Speaking to the press, at the end of a meeting with the president of the National Assembly, Carolina Cerqueira, he pointed out that many countries hesitated in signing this agreement because they did not fully understand some of the aspects it covers.
“What must be understood is that this is a global agreement that does not alter or override any national legislation”, he clarified.
According to the secretary general of the OEACP, countries will implement this agreement in accordance with their realities and needs.
Only 66 countries signed the agreement and 13 countries did not do so, in this period of its provisional implementation.
“The fear we have is that, arriving in May, we may not have a sufficient number of ratifications. On our side we need the Agreement to be ratified by at least 50 countries”, he noted.
Georges Chikoti predicts that, by May this year, there will be 54 ratifications so that the Agreement can enter into force definitively from the month of June.
The Samoa Agreement is a new general framework for relations between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, covering six priority areas, namely democracy and human rights, sustainable economic development and growth, climate change, human and social development , peace, security and migration and mobility.
Officially signed on November 15, 2023, in Apia (Samoa), this agreement replaces the Cotonou agreement, which was in force between the EU and the countries of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.
The Agreement, which has been in force provisionally since January this year, includes a common base at the level of the OEACP States, combined with three regional protocols for Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, focused on the specific needs of these regions.
Economic Partnership with the EU
Georges Chikoti also highlighted the gains of the EU Partnership Agreement with OEACP which, for the next 10 years, includes 30 billion dollars in non-refundable development aid.
“The gains are many because for the next 10 years there is 30 billion dollars in non-refundable development aid”, he stressed.
He made it known that many countries benefit greatly in terms of agriculture and the export of their products to Europe under this Agreement, exemplifying cases such as Cape Verde and the countries of West Africa.
He recalled that the majority of African products entering Europe fall under this agreement.
He made it known that Angola had not signed the Strategic Partnership Agreement with the EU.
In the audience with the president of the National Assembly, Georges Chikoti also reported on the progress of the work of the OEACP-EU Parliamentary Constituent Assemblies, which are taking place in the Angolan capital.
He expressed, on behalf of the OEACP, the deputies and technical team, the conditions that Angola made available for the organization of the great event.
He considered the event of capital importance because it takes place after the signing of the Samoa Agreement, which over the next 20 years will mark relations between the European Union and the countries of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (OEACP).
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