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

The 10th session of the ACP Parliamentary Assembly and 14th session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA), scheduled to take place from 14 to 22 November 2007, started today in the Kigali Serena Hotel.

The preparatory meetings on the ACP side started with meetings of the Committee on Economic Development, Finance and Trade and the Committee on Political Affairs. The Committee on Social Affairs and the Environment meets tomorrow morning before the Bureau of the ACP Parliamentary Assembly meets in the afternoon. The 10th ACP Parliamentary Assembly session is scheduled for Friday morning, 16 November 2007. The plenary session normally serves as the forum to consolidate ACP positions on pertinent issues before the joint meetings with the European side.

High up on the agenda for the ACP parliamentarians are the state of negotiations of Economic Partnership Agreements between ACP regions and the European Union, which are due to be concluded on 31 December 2007. The position of ACP countries on the EPAs has been expressed through the ‘Kigali Declaration’, which would be formally adopted at the plenary of the JPA on Monday. Among other salient issues that would be discussed with the Members of the European Parliament next week are food security in ACP countries and foreign direct investment.

The joint meetings start on Saturday when the Committees meet and that would be followed on Sunday evening, 18 November 2007, when the Bureau of the JPA takes place. The JPA plenary starts on Monday morning and the President of the Republic of Rwanda, Honourable Paul KAGAME, and President of the Senate Honourable Vincent BIRUTI are expected to attend the formal opening of the JPA.