The Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States

ACP SECRETARIAT Or:FR/Tr:JA/Rev:AM

PRESS NOTE

Brussels , 13 September 2006

The 5th meeting of the ACP Parliamentary Assembly was held in Brussels on 12 September 2006 under the chairmanship of the President-in-Office, Mr. René Radembino-Coniquet ( Gabon), who chaired the meeting for the first time since his appointment in Vienna last June.

During the session, the Assembly accepted the offer from Rwanda, “land of a thousand hills,” to host the 10 th meeting of the ACP Parliamentary Assembly scheduled for the second half of 2007.

The Parliamentarians heard reports from the ACP Chairpersons and Rapporteurs of the three JPA Standing Committees and the Working Groups, particularly on the Economic Partnership Agreements and conflict management. They then had a constructive exchange of views on the work of the Standing Committees, in particular the reports to be presented at the upcoming JPA session in Barbados, namely:  “Small arms and light weapons and sustainable development” (Political Affairs); “Impact of tourism in ACP countries” (Economic Development, Finance and Trade); and  “Water in developing countries” (Social Affairs and the Environment).

Moreover, the Assembly heard a report from Benin’s parliamentary delegate on the ACP-EU observer mission to the elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He informed the participants that the mission had considered the elections “transparent and democratic, but regretted, nonetheless, the outbreaks of violence that had occurred in some regions of the country before and during the polls.”

The representatives from DRC, Burundi, Mauritania, Uganda, Sudan and Togo each reported on the positive developments in their respective countries, while Ethiopia’s representative apprised the Assembly of major floods in his country.

Finally, the meeting provided the opportunity for the representative of Barbados to renew that country’s invitation to the Parliamentarians to participate in the next JPA session to be held in Bridgetown, Barbados, in November 2006.

• René Radembino-Coniquet, President of the Senate of Gabon, was appointed JPA Co-president by the ACP Parliamentary Assembly at its 4 th meeting in Vienna, Austria, He replaces Mr. Georges RAWIRI who passed away on 9 April 2006.

• The ACP Parliamentary Assembly was set up at Bamako, Mali, on 15 April 2005. It defines the common positions of ACP Parliamentarians with a view to contributing to the activities of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly and promoting Intra-ACP parliamentary cooperation. It is composed of ACP Parliamentarians who meet four times a year.