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Address by Ng'andu Peter Magande, Secretary General of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States to the First Summit of the ACP heads of State/Government Libreville, Gabon, 6th November, 1997 |
On behalf of the 48 African, 15 Caribbean and 8 pacific states who constitute the ACP group, I wish to sincerely thank his excellency El Hadj Omar Bongo, president of the Republic of Gabon, the government and the people of the republic of Gabon for the warm and fraternal welcome accorded to us in this beautiful country.
It was in fulfilment of the strong belief in the ideals of the ACP fraternity, that the republic of Gabon offered to host this summit. His excellency, president Omar Bongo, has taken a special interest in the preparations for the summit. The magnificent arrangements we enjoy today are the result. I therefore pay special tribute to you, sir.
Mr chairman,
This, being the first ACP summit in the twenty-two years of the life of the group, I become the first secretary-general to address the ACP heads of state and government. I therefore feel most honoured and humble.
Mr chairman,
The ACP group was constituted in 1975, and formalised at an agreement signed in Georgetown, Guyana, in south America. From a membership of 46, the group has expanded to 71 member states at present.
The group have a little over 600 million citizens, with 97 percent of them in African member states. The whole of sub-Saharan Africa belongs to the group.
Under the Georgetown agreement, the African, Caribbean and pacific states committed themselves to promoting improved cooperation between the peoples of the ACP on the basis of their interdependence, complementarity and mutual interests. They resolved to establish the ACP group of states to contribute towards a new, fairer and more equitable world order.
As a means of attaining these and other noble objectives, the group entered into an agreement termed the Lomé convention with the European economic community. Currently, the 71 ACP and 15 European union states with 18 percent of the global population participate in the world's largest partnership, outside the united nations system.
The partnership includes some of the smallest states with populations of less than 50,000 inhabitants , the most vulnerable island states, often victims of natural disasters, some of the poorest countries. Thirty-nine ACP states are among the 49 least developed countries and many feature on the list of the highly indebted poor countries.
On the other hand, the partner European union is the largest donor of development aid in the world. Some of the union members are among the most developed, industrialised and wealthy in the world. This is not only a remarkable but is also a most valuable partnership.
Indeed, the 4 agreements signed since 1975 have provided for trade promotion. They also facilitated the disbursement of development aid by the European union to the ACP developing countries. The current Lomé four convention which expires in February, 2000 has been described as the finest and most complete instrument of north-south cooperation.
Mr chairman, Your excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen,
During the life of the ACP group and the Lomé conventions, radical changes and events of monumental impact to the partner European union and to the global political and commercial landscape have occurred. Amongst some of the significant ones to the ACP group were the following : -
- the signing in 1992 of the Maastricht treaty of European union which resulted in common security, economic and monetary policies with a single market, and a clear basis for future EU cooperation, anchored on poverty eradication;
- the holding of important un world conferences on education, children, environment and development, human rights, population and development, women, social development, food security, and habitat;
- the conclusion of the Uruguay round of trade negotiations which led to the establishment of the world trade organisation (WTO), a rules based trading system, open to all.
All these and many other events and changes were to affect the negotiations for the review of the fourth Lomé convention in 1995. Attitudes to the cooperation agreement by some European union members have changed. Much less financial aid is to be provided and with more conditionalities.
It required the heads of state and government of the European union, for the first time in the history of the convention, to resolve a deadlock over the financial package under the revised convention.
Fully recognising and feeling the impact of the changed circumstances, the ACP ministers, who had so ably negotiated all the previous agreements had to appeal for a summit of ACP heads of state and government to consider developmental issues in a political context.
Mr chairman, your excellencies presidents and heads of state and government, I am most grateful for your early response to the appeal by your ministers.
I believe that the concept of the ACP group was a great idea and I want to salute the visionaries, some of whom are in our midst today. However, institutions must be alive to the environment within which they operate. They must change to suit the circumstances, or else they run the risk of being forgotten in written history.
Mr chairman, this summit is a clear acknowledgement by the ACP group of states of the imperative to reflect on the operations of our organisation and to relaunch it towards a more focussed target. The opportunities and risks brought about by the global changes I mentioned earlier, require bold measures by our organisation.
The organisation must assist member states to adequately respond to these global challenges. This can only be done if the group equips itself with appropriate instruments, and a mechanism for an active participatory role in the international arena where major decisions are made.
From the islands of the pacific, through the sleeping giant Africa, to the charming islands of the Caribbean, the African, Caribbean and pacific group of states displays a rich diversity of cultures, natural wealth, and political systems.
This diversity must be harnessed to re-create an organisation that will enhance a peaceful and secure global coexistence. The organisation already brings together peoples and nations of all shades for mutual benefit under the Lomé convention. Of course, we must safeguard and strengthen our relationship with the European union under the current cooperation agreement.
Globalization and liberalisation beckon us and our partners to make our partnership relevant to the larger community of nations. The ACP group should render a louder voice of shared experiences of poverty, difficulties and underdevelopment in the global conferences. The group together with its European partner should show solidarity in handling global issues.
This will require some readjustment of our institutional arrangements and the strengthening of regional
efforts. The ACP group has much to learn from its partner, the European union, which has established and
fortified its instruments to become one of the strongest regional organisations in the world. The ACP should
use its close relationship with the European union to sharpen its instruments and institutions.
The ACP group of states has already been granted observer status in many international organisations. The secretariat will have to fully participate in the deliberations of these bodies in order to appreciate the implications of the issues.
Your secretary-general and his staff are fully aware of the changes that have made you come together, some 22 years after the establishment of the group. We are ready and willing to execute any mandates your excellencies will pass on to us. However , these new mandates are likely to require a new approach, and different work arrangements amongst the various organs of the ACP.
Your excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen,
As indicated earlier, sub-Saharan Africa constitutes the larger membership of the ACP group. Therefore, for as long as the majority of the ACP citizens live in abject poverty, the group will continue to be preoccupied with issues of mere survival, and will drift on without a clear destination. The ACP group will not be able to engage in discussions of a long-term nature with its partners. The group will continue to decry the declining levels of development aid and the marginalisation of its member states.
Mr chairman, Your excellencies , Distinguished guests, Ladies and gentlemen,
I am aware of the great sacrifices made by the people of Gabon towards facilitating the holding of the first African, Caribbean and pacific group summit. The hospitality has been impeccable. And we will continue to say thank you and well done until we depart.
However, I wish to propose a lasting and befitting tribute to this commendable work and historic meeting. This should be in our individual resolve to continue interacting and actively participating in efforts towards international understanding for sustainable development, peace and security for all humanity.
I thank you.
