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Opening Ceremony Of The 5th Summit Of ACP Heads of State and Government - Address by H.E. Sir John R. Kaputin, Secrtetary General of The ACP Group KHARTOUM, SUDAN , 7-8 DECEMBER 2006
President of Sudan, H. E. Mr. Omer Hassan Ahmed El BASHIR At the outset, allow me to express my gratitude and appreciation for the warm and unique hospitality extended to the Secretariat staff and I by the Government and the people of the Sudan. I wish to thank our outgoing President of the ACP Summit, H. E. Mr. Armando Emilio GUEBUZA, President of the Republic of Mozambique, for his leadership over the past two years. The decision for 5 th ACP Summit to be held in Khartoum, in the Sudan, in 2006, was made in your beautiful Capital, Maputo, Your wise counsel to me and your very strong commitment for the 5 th ACP Summit to take place in accordance with the Maputo Decision was very much appreciated. I must thank you for allowing me the honour and special privilege to meet you, Your Excellency, and, subsequently, with your distinguished Foreign Affairs Minister, in October this year. As Secretary-General of the ACP Group, I must commend the Sudanese Authorities and the Government of the Sudan for the preparation of the 5 th ACP Summit for Heads of State and Government, and for the excellent facilities, placed at the disposal of our Distinguish ACP Leaders and our Special Invited Guests. You have certainly spared us no efforts in your commitment and dedication to your role as the Host. Mr. President, I have been privileged to have attended the four previous ACP Summits in my former capacity as a Minister and a Member of the National of Parliament of Papua New Guinea, where I had served for 30 years. I am greatly honoured to have this opportunity to address this august body for the first time since I assumed my tenure as Head of the ACP Secretariat in March, 2005. In this regard, I take this opportunity to express my profound appreciation and gratitude to all the ACP Leaders for placing their confidence in me. I shall strive to do my utmost best to safeguard and advance the interest of the ACP Group. Distinguished leaders, An ACP Summit is always a rare and unique moment, given that our Heads of State and Government do not often get to meet that often: only five (5) such Summits have been held in 31 years of existence of the ACP Group. The 5 th ACP Summit could not have been held at a more appropriate time. The Group urgently needs this fora at the highest level to guide the Group especially as we consider options and solutions for a number of pending issues that require immediate and urgent decisions. These relate to the various issues summarized in the broad chapters of the Draft Declaration of Khartoum: Peace, Security and Stability Multilateralism Sustainable Development External Relations; and The Future of the ACP Group Hence, we need your collective wisdom as our Heads of State and Government to show the way to complement the organs of the ACP Group so that we can move forward in unison and with a common purpose. I concur with the sentiment expressed by speakers and participants over the last few days that have described the precarious position of the ACP Group on the world stage. No doubt we live in a fast-changing world. Many of the trends relating to globalization as well as security concerns are unavoidable. The crucial point is not whether we are going to be swept along in these undercurrents. We are already caught up in them. Rather it is a question of how we cope with these forces. To that end, we have to adapt and innovate ways in order to maintain our human dignity and sovereign rights. The Draft Declaration ends with a short section on the future of our Group. Please allow me to dwell on this part and share with you a few thoughts from the Secretariat’s perspective. Questions have been raised about the future of the ACP Group, and particularly whether we have outlived our purpose. Let me suggest that the noble goals and objectives of the Group will never be obsolete for as long as we maintain focus and channel our efforts to enhancing the welfare of our people. That is why we in the Secretariat recognize and believe that a group of 79 sovereign countries, working side by side in the spirit of fraternity, is a force that cannot be ignored in world politics. Mr. President, We have had now more than thirty (30) years of cooperation with our European Union partner. Yet even that long partnership finds itself at a crossroad and needs to be assessed as to its future prospects. In that perspective, we have to wonder whether there is another angle to which the EU views our partnership. Lately, the EU has been adopting policies with implications on the ACP Group with limited or no consultation with the Secretariat. Let me not be mistaken; I do not want to suggest for one moment that there is a conspiracy to sideline or fragment the ACP Group. However, to avoid misunderstanding in a partnership like ours with the Europeans, it would add to a warm relationship if our European friends would give us the courtesy of meaningful consultations on ACP-related policies and undertakings before they are adopted. In 2005 and early 2006 three strategies were adopted that were designed to account for the three regions of the ACP. The 84 th Council of Ministers Meeting this week has just authorized the Committee of Ambassadors to carefully examine this matter again so that we can understand their comprehensive and full impacts in our three regions. Distinguished leaders, I do not need to regurgitate the important points that have been said about the EPAs in preceding meetings leading to this Summit. Nonetheless, let me echo what the Honorable Owen ARTHUR, the Prime Minister of Barbados said, again, during the recent JPA meeting; “that the usefulness of the EPA configuration should start with proper regional integration”. Failing that, the EPA becomes a hollow concept for the ACP side. Given that the signings of the EPAs are scheduled immediately after the 31 st December, 2007, I would like to urge our leaders to consider standing by your Council of Ministers and take a strong political stand on this issue. Using the words of Dame Billie Miller, the Foreign Minister of Barbados, the ACP Group “should not be terrorized by deadlines” as far as the EPA negotiations are concerned. But apart from the deadlines, there are also issues such as how to cater for the cost of adjustment. Then there is the development dimension that the ACP Group has been pushing for some time now. I would like to suggest also that the ACP regions use the expertise of the ACP Secretariat henceforth more than they have done so far. For one reason or another, the Secretariat has been kept out of the process of negotiations at the regional level in the early stages. But we are convinced that the interests of the ACP regions would even be better served if the Secretariat were involved. The objective is not to undermine the authorities of those responsible for the exercise and the interests of their stakeholders, but to complement the expertise at the regional levels with the Secretariat’s wealth of experience acquired through several years of dealing with our EU partners on this matter. In relation to the WTO, the ACP Group would like to see the resumption of talks so that our member States can see the nature of the international trade environment and allow us to prepare ourselves well for bilateral and regional negotiations. Mr. President, The 10 th EDF negotiation was concluded in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea , in June 2006. The ACP Group argued its positions persuasively during the meetings that led to the conclusion of the financial agreement. Among the issues that the Group wished to incorporate in the 10 th EDF were an Adjustment Financial Facility for the implementation of the EPAs and stiff opposition to the inclusion of the OCTs under the intra-ACP envelope. I am making reference to these cases because they demonstrate how committed and passionate we were to cut ourselves the best deal possible under the 10 th EDF. Now that the 10 th EDF has been finalized, member states perhaps do not realize that accession to this pool of funds is pegged to the ratification of the Revised Cotonou Agreement. So far, Botswana is the only ACP country to have ratified the revised agreement – plus three European countries. Honorable Leaders, I would like to appeal to all member States to ratify the Revised Cotonou Agreement at the earliest convenient times before the 10 th EDF comes into effect on 1 January 2008. Mr. President, The ACP Parliamentary Assembly was inaugurated in Bamako, Mali, in 2005. So far, fifty three (53) ACP countries have signed the Charter. While the need to sign up is a separate matter all together, I would like to urge our leaders to take advantage of the ACP Parliamentary Assembly, and the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, since these are vital bodies that could foster our quality of governance, and enhance understanding of our difficulties as well as solutions to problems that befall us. Mr. President, The ACP Secretariat is your Secretariat. I would like to pledge once again my commitment and that of every member of my staff to do our utmost at your service to achieve your objectives in favor of our people. To do this we need appropriate material and human resources. The ACP Secretariat was under tremendous financial constrain in late 2005 and into the early part of this year. It has been revealed in the ACP Council Meeting that the finance of the Secretariat is now in a much improved position. For that reason, I take this opportunity to thank all Heads of State and Government and their countries for the prompt response to our appeal. The Secretariat looks forward to a continuous effort next year and beyond in terms of contributions and payments of arrears. Mr. President Honorable Heads of State and Government, Distinguished Ministers, Representatives of international organizations, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, The theme of this 5 th ACP Summit is “ United for Peace, Solidarity and Sustainable Development.” I therefore humbly urge you, Honorable and Respected Leaders, to give the Group the guidance and mandate that we need so that we can pursue ways that would make this theme a reality. We owe it to our people if our Group wants to continue to be relevant not only to our partners on the European side, but more importantly to the fast evolving world, so that together we can rise up to the challenge of forging further our ACP Group into a force to be reckoned with. Before I conclude, and with your indulgence, may I take this opportunity to make an appeal to this august body for your support for Fiji and Tonga, currently experiencing great political turmoil, especially with the Military Coup in Fiji, and the physical destruction of the Capital of Tonga. Having organized the Pacific ACP Foreign Ministers in 2000 under Art. 96 of the Cotonou Agreement, and to address the aftermath of the 1999 political situation, with support from the EU French Presidency at the time and the European Commission, as well as support from the ASEAN Ministerial Forum, I know only too well the human sufferings caused by such undemocratic and militaristic action to force a properly elected government out of office. I would therefore appeal to our Distinguished and Eminent Leaders to send the strongest possible message of condemnation to the coup leaders in Fiji, and to send a message of solidarity with our host of the 3 rd ACP Summit, the Prime Minister of Fiji, Hon. Lasagna QARASE. Whit regard to Tonga, any mission to be sent to Fiji, must also include Tonga. I would like to conclude by thanking our Host once again for their very generous hospitality and for making us feel at home and I thank you for your kind attention.
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