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

Minister Lantigua, Minister Rojas, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is for me a great honour and privilege to be in the Dominican Republic. The purpose of my visit is to have discussions with the authorities on the preparations and organizational arrangements of the important meetings of the ACP Group of States that the Dominican Republic will host during October 2006:

-2 nd Meeting of ACP Ministers of Culture on 13 October 2006; and

-1 st ACP Festival during the period 14 – 21 October 2006.

Yesterday, I had an opportunity to view the venues for the Meeting and Festival, and I am convinced and confident that both the Ministerial Meeting and Festival will be successful. Organizational arrangements are at an advanced stage, and I will have further discussions with the authorities and organizational committees today.

The ACP Group of States is the largest organised entity for developing countries with a membership of 79 covering the African continent, Caribbean and Pacific regions, and with an estimated population of over 700 million. It has as one of its core objectives the alleviation of poverty. This objective, coupled with the promotion of sustainable development, is also at the heart of our Cotonou Partnership with the EU, which interlocks 103 countries and represents the most advanced and innovative North-South formalised development cooperation arrangement.

Culture is at the heart of our efforts to attain sustainable development and indeed the alleviation of poverty in our States.

The ACP Ministerial Meeting, which will be preceded by a two-day Preparatory Technical Meeting, has as its objective to exchange views on the Implementation of the Dakar Plan of Action on the Promotion of ACP Cultures and Cultural Industries (adopted at the 1 st Meeting of ACP Ministers of Culture), to take decisions on the culture related activities and initiatives that will enhance sustainable development, draw up concrete proposals on the implementation of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, and also take a decision on partnership proposals for the implementation of the Resolutions of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) on matters related to culture. More than 40 Ministers of ACP States have already confirmed their participation in the Ministerial Meeting.

The 1 st ACP Festival is a historic event, and for the 1 st time in its history, the ACP Group will showcase the cultural creativity and diversity of its member States. Various activities will be hosted during the Festival, which includes arts and crafts, dance and music, ACP cinema, professional meetings, and ACP culinary, just to name a few. We secured the participation of more than 250 artists and performers from more than 40 ACP States.

In conclusion, I am pleased with the facilities and preparations for both the Ministerial Meeting and the Festival, and I look forward to participate in these events during October 2006. To this end, I would like to challenge the media present today, to do its utmost to publicise these events to ensure that we have mass participation from the people of the Dominican Republic and tourist.

All endeavours and initiatives in the field of culture should be focussed on the well-being of our peoples. Let us join hands, and together ensure the success of the events that will complement other efforts to effectively address poverty and the challenges of sustainable development.

I thank you for your attention.