Senator the Honourable Dr. Amery Browne, Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs, travelled to the Kingdom of Belgium to participate in the 115th Session of the Council of Ministers of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) and the 45th Session of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers from November 27th to 29th, 2022.
Minister Browne presided over the 115th Session of the Council of Ministers and was co-President of 45th Session of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers alongside the First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Mr. Jiri Kozak.
Minister Browne chaired these meetings in his capacity as President-in-Office of the Council of Ministers of the Organization of African, Caribbean and Pacific States. It had been thirty years since Trinidad and Tobago last assumed the Presidency-in-Office of the Council of Ministers.
The Meetings marked the first time in three (3) years that the OACPS Council of Ministers and the ACP-EU Joint Council of Ministers engaged in in-person meetings after disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Council of Ministers of the OACPS exchanged views and adopted key Decisions and Resolutions, among which were:
• The Application for Membership of the Republic of Maldives to join the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States
• Road Safety in Member States of the OACPS
• A proposed Joint OACPS-EU Resource Mobilisation Conference for Financing Small Island Developing States-Overseas Countries and Territories’ Recovery, Resilience and Sustainability
• Reiteration of the need to sign the New OACPS-EU Partnership Agreement
• Vanuatu’s campaign for an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on climate change
• Guaranteeing continued market access for OACPS goods in the European Union’s markets in light of new EU Legislation
• Support for the newly-formed initiative for the United Nations to develop an international tax cooperation framework.
The resumption of the 45th Session of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers was an opportunity for Ministers to reflect on key agenda matters, such as:
• Current global affairs, including food and energy security
• The new EU-OACPS Partnership Agreement
• Implementation of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement
• Global Gateway Strategy, its relevance for the OACPS and implementation of the NDICI-Global Europe
• EU-OACPS cooperation in the international fora.
Minister Browne, in his Statements to the Sessions, underscored the critical importance of multilateral cooperation and dialogue to address the challenges of the sustainable development of OACPS and EU Member States. He also reiterated Trinidad and Tobago’s continued commitment to active and productive engagement within the OACPS and EU fora, and that of the dynamic relationship between the OACPS and the European Union.
Bilaterally, Minister Browne and the Honourable Tete Antonio, Minister of External Relations of Angola met and exchanged views on diplomatic relations between Trinidad and Tobago and Angola and on the upcoming 10th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the OACPS to be held in Luanda, Angola from 6th to 10th December 2022. The preparations for the Summit featured prominently on the agenda of the Council of Ministers of the OACPS.
The delegation of Trinidad and Tobago comprised Senator the Honourable Dr. Amery Browne; His Excellency Colin Connelly, Ambassador of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago to the Kingdom of Belgium and Permanent Representative to the European Union; Mr. Colin James, Counsellor, Embassy of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago to the Kingdom of Belgium and Mission to the European Union; Mr. Davin Jagessar, Assistant Programme Coordinator of the European Development Fund Unit, Ministry of Planning and Development; and Ms. Kaanita Shah, Trade Policy Expert, Ministry of Trade and Industry.
