Luanda - The Angolan capital, Luanda, is ready to host, from the 19th to the 21st of this month, the Constitutive Meetings of regional structures of the Organization of African, Caribbean and European Union States (OACPS-EU), with a focus on greater partnership and rapprochement among peoples.
The president of the National Monitoring Group for the Parliaments of European and ACP-EU Countries, deputy Ângela Bragança, highlighted, a few days ago, the creation of conditions for the holding of this grand event, which takes place under the motto "A New Dawn in OACPS Relations - Towards a People-Led Partnership".
Given the importance of the event, the OACPS-EU's deputy coordinator of the organization highlighted the participation of several stakeholders to ensure quality services for those invited to the event, from visa facilitation, protocol support, logistics and others.
Alongside the Constitutive Assemblies, Women and Youth forums will also be held.
In this regard, deputy Ângela Bragança emphasized that the objective is to promote greater partnership and rapprochement between the people of the ACP-EU States, in light of the new Samoa Agreement, which, together, will discuss topics of common interest that affect young people and women, such as gender equality, entrepreneurship, employment, among others.
The event program envisages the creation of three new regional parliamentary assemblies, namely those of Africa-European Union, Caribbean-European Union and Pacific-European Union.
It also provides for a press conference to be given by the two co-presidents of the Parliamentary Assembly. The opening ceremony is scheduled for the 21st.
During the debates, strategies for relaunching the OACPS-EU partnership will be discussed, around the six priority areas defined in the Samoa Agreement.
These are human rights, democracy and good governance, peace and security, human and social development, inclusivity, sustainable economic growth and development, environmental sustainability and climate change, migration and mobility.
Regional meetings for Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific are scheduled for the 17th, Saturday, and on Sunday (18th), the 64th Parliamentary Assembly of the OACPS will take place in the Plenary of the National Assembly.
The Constituent Assemblies of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly and the 1st Joint Parliamentary Assembly of the OACPS-EU result from the adoption of the Meeting's new Partnership Agreement, the Samoa Agreement, signed on 15 November 2023, an instrument that replaced the Cotonou Agreement, adopted in 2000, and the Lomé Convention of 1975.
The Joint Parliamentary Assembly is a permanent body with consultative functions.
The OACPS-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly is co-chaired, on the European side, by Carlos Zorrinho, a Portuguese MEP, and, on the OACPS side, by Anita Rita Sithole, a Mozambican deputy.
The OACPS brings together around 1.5 billion people from three continents and 79 countries, 48 from Sub-Saharan Africa, 16 from the Caribbean and 15 from the Pacific, which makes this organization a significant force.
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