Brussels, 19 June 2014/ ACP: The next Secretary General of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group for 2015-2020 shall be appointed from the Caribbean region, the ACP Council confirmed this week at its 99^th session in Nairobi, Kenya.

The Secretary General holds executive powers and heads the Brussels-based ACP Secretariat, which is the administrative and technical body of the ACP Group. The Secretariat provides policy guidance and technical expertise to the Organs of the Group, and monitors the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement.

Appointment to the top post is for five years, and generally follows a principle of rotation amongst the six ACP regions, including West Africa (currently holding the post), East Africa, Central Africa, Southern Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific Islands.  

The Secretary General shall in turn appoint four Assistant Secretary Generals to head various departments in the Secretariat during his term. Nominees for these posts are also proposed by the regions.

The current Secretary General is H.E Mr. Alhaji Muhammad Mumuni of Ghana, whose tenure ends in February 2015. The selection of the next Secretary General will be finalised by the Council of Ministers in Suriname in November 2014, to begin his or her term in March 2015.

The upcoming term is especially significant as it will see the last leg of ACP-EU cooperation under the current Cotonou Partnership Agreement, which ends in 2020.

- ACP Press