Luanda – The secretary general of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), the Angolan Georges Chikoti, said that the next Summit in Luanda represents for Angola an opportunity to show its leadership capacity, in the framework of international organisations.
Angola hosts from 6 to 10 December the 10th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), a group of 79 countries, founded in 1975.
In an interview with ANGOP, Georges Chikoti also highlighted the fact that the event could “give due support to countries, in their relationship with international partners, in raising funds, in formulating their opinions, regarding the development challenges that countries have faced since the creation of the Organisation”.
“I must say that we congratulate the efforts that Angola has made, because they all fit the challenge for us to organise a great Summit, with positive results, at a time when the OACPS has become an international organisation, which fights for the interests of the 79 countries”, he stressed.
The secretary general of the OACPS also highlighted the agreement that the group has just negotiated with the European Union (EU), which resulted in that entity’s commitment to provide, over the next 10 years, 500 million euros, for the Pacific, 800 million for the Caribbean, and 29.1 billion for the African continent.
“It may not be huge, but it is something important for our countries. It is an important aid that our countries will benefit from”, he highlighted.
Georges Chikoti also referred to the fact that the new partnership between the European Union (EU) and the OACPS continues to have some gray areas, especially in the chapters on the fight against terrorism and money laundering, which, according to him, has negatively affected some of the Organisation’s members.
“In fact, the lists that are established by our partners are often discriminatory, without providing evidence that a particular country is money laundering or linked to the financing of terrorism,” he said.
According to him, “many of the countries on that list are those that have nothing to do with these practices”.
He is of the view that one of the paths to follow to clarify these gray areas is to have a “true and profound” discussion between the partners, so that this discrimination ceases and some OACPS countries are placed on these lists.
Read the full interview:
ANGOP – Angola hosts, from 6 to 10 December next, the 10th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS). What does this meeting represent, in general terms, for Angola and for the Organisation, and what decisions are expected from it?
GEORGES CHIKOTI (GC) – The OACPS holds its 10th Summit from the 6th to the 10th of December 2022. Angola will, from then on, be the acting president of the Organisation, which, naturally, aims to support its members in their efforts to development, fight against poverty and all weather conditions. That is why this group was formed in 1975. The group changed its base agreement, that of Georgetown, as of 2019. The next Summit represents, for Angola, an opportunity to show its leadership capacity, within the scope of international organisations, but also, and above all, to give due support for countries in their relationship with international partners in raising funds, in formulating their opinions, regarding the development challenges that countries face, since the creation of the Organisation. It brings together 79 member countries, ranging from the Caribbean to the Pacific, between small and large States, which are confronted, as a whole, with the challenges of development, in an unequal relationship, between small countries, of the South, and from the big ones of North. The main objective of small countries is to make their voices heard and their goals achieved. In conclusion, from the time that Angola will become president of the Summit, the President of the Republic of Angola, His Excellency João Lourenço, will work in the direction of the 79 member countries of the OACPS, supported by the Secretariat, in the accomplishment of all that are the objectives of the Organisation.
ANGOP – What is the meaning of the fact that Angola directs the General Secretariat of the Organisation and prepares to assume its presidency at the end of the Summit?
GC – The meaning is very great. I was nominated by Angola to lead the Organisation, at the beginning of the mandate, first to run for the secretary general of that entity. Angola, during the 9th Summit, presented itself as a candidate to organise this Summit and, since then, we have been in contact with the country. Our country has a national team, which coordinates all the elements so that the next Summit can be prepared, with all convenience. We are working together, we provide the necessary technical support. Angola has taken all the political decisions and, at this moment, we are in a conclusive phase for the organisation of the next Summit. I must say that we congratulate the efforts that Angola has made, because they are all part of the struggle for us to organise a great Summit, with positive results, at a time when the OACPS has become an international organisation, which fights for the interests of the 79 countries , at a time when the general equation of international politics is a little troubled, amid challenges, on the one hand, between European countries and Russia, with consequences for our countries. Hence the importance of having more and more solidarity, more and more initiatives that come from the South, initiatives that are inclusive, that, in fact, frame the interests of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, not only in matters related to aid , but also in terms of improving products from these regions, which are exported to northern countries, particularly Europe.
ANGOP – The reduction and eradication of poverty, as well as the progressive integration of the ACP countries into the world economy are among the main objectives of the cooperation partnership with the European Union (EU), defined in the Cotonou Agreements. After the end of the validity of these instruments, in 2020, what is the assessment of the achievement of the proposed objectives?
GC – The objectives were not all achieved. However, it must be admitted that, in general, there was considerable help, important, in terms of poverty reduction, development aid and improvement of its structures and infrastructure. Hence the importance of the Cotonou Agreement between the members of the OACPS and the European Union. It’s a one-off deal. We must admit that Europe dedicates non-refundable aid to development. It means that they invest in our countries, they support our countries, without that aid being refundable. Hence the importance of what, to date, has been the European Union’s support for our countries, which will continue, in a different format, but of which we can only make a positive assessment, since it allowed the countries to remain together, so far, but with obvious signs of development. I should also point out that the agreement that we have just negotiated dedicates important sums. The European Union undertakes, for the next 10 years, to make available 500 million euros for the Pacific, 800 million for the Caribbean, and 29.1 billion for the African continent. It may not be huge, but it is important for our countries. It is an important aid that our countries will benefit from.
ANGOP – The expiry of the Cotonou Agreements gave rise to the opening of negotiations for the renewal of the legal framework for cooperation. How did the negotiations go and what changes in the new era?
GC – The new agreement has not yet been signed, a step that is expected to be taken as soon as possible. However, we emphasise that, precisely, it has already opened up to this change, in the sense that the European Union makes this aid available, which will be taken directly to the countries in their respective regions. It will be a help that will no longer be distributed from Brussels, by technicians, as has been happening. On the OACPS side, there will be a need to change its structure, within the scope of the ongoing legal reform, which has already allowed for the revision of the Georgetown Agreement. The revised agreement will determine what the future will look like. In summary, the structure of the agreement and the nature of the relationship between the countries of the OACPS and the European Union have already been changed.
ANGOP – Angola has already ratified the revised Georgetown Agreement. What benefits does the country expect to obtain or has already obtained with the ratification of this instrument or with its presence in the organisation?
GC – So far, the agreement has not yet entered into force. We have the previous agreement in force, but there are several projects, which are funded by the European Union, in Angola, which continue to be implemented. On the other hand, the fact that Angola is part of the group serves to support the member states in the important new challenges, as well as in climate-related issues, which affect all countries. Regarding climate change, we are proposing several amendments, which we hope will be included in the discussions of the agreements, both at COP27, which is taking place in Egypt and where we are very active, so that all countries can derive some direct benefit from it. In another perspective and on the basis of existing agreements, Angola can export its products, agricultural and others, to the European continent.
ANGOP – What are the specific priorities that the new cooperation framework reserves for African countries, in general, and Angola, in particular?
GC – The new agreement establishes a direct relationship between the countries and the funds of the European Union, which means that direct negotiations can be made between the OACPS countries and the European Union, focused on the needs of the countries to be helped, without the need for resort to bureaucracy, as was the case in the past, when these matters were handled from Brussels, Belgium, where the OACPS is based. In summary, there may be a direct relationship between representatives of the European Union, in Angola, and the Angolan Government, in the sense of paying attention to projects of interest to the African country.
ANGOP – The OACPS was created, in short, to promote sustainable development and work towards the reduction of misery and poverty in the Member States. What is your assessment of this agenda?
GC – That agenda corresponded to the expectations of our countries, if we look at the different projects, if we look, for example, at the financing of projects for women. For example, in the year 2020, there were more than five thousand projects that were for women, in several countries on the African continent. Although small, these projects continue to be implemented and have had an important impact on our communities. There are several youth projects, which, over the past year, have been financed by a German company, to benefit African youth. Many of these projects benefit from funding of up to three million euros and have had a major impact on the economies of our countries, particularly in Kenya and Malawi. So I think that cooperation has helped to boost a number of important projects, in terms of strengthening cooperation and helping sustainable development, and particularly those small projects that help people in our communities.
ANGOP – What will be your work agenda, until 2025, the year of the end of your first term as secretary general of the OACPS?
GC – My mandate has been, since the 9th Summit, to restructure and resize the organisation, that is, to adapt it to the new times. In other words, this means opting for a more flexible and reduced structure, but with greater impact and performance. At that level, we have already managed to establish new instruments, such as the trust fund, which will help to support the mobilisation of some resources to finance our projects. For this reason, the next Summit in Luanda has scheduled an event essentially dedicated to raising funds. On the other hand, we have organised ourselves in such a way that we intend to be more active, within the framework of the ACP, in Geneva (Switzerland), New York (USA) and Brussels (Belgium). We intend to work in a concerted manner, with regard to money laundering, the fight against terrorist financing and in all aspects that are important for our countries, namely the fight to preserve the environment and its negative effects. In fact, a 1.5 degree warming could be catastrophic for some countries and islanders. This has been one of the themes on which we have focused. We are focused on reducing the vulnerability index of our countries, to help make it easier, in terms of funding, to find out which countries are most vulnerable and how they can best be helped.
ANGOP – According to the programme, the Summit will be preceded by a business forum, which will focus on the discussion of matters related to trade among the member states of the organisation. What is your assessment of this theme?
GC – My assessment is that our countries, in fact, are not necessarily new and, also, they are not countries that are starting to play a leading role today. Many of our countries have been developing for some years now. They have companies and businesses for a long time. This business forum will bring together businessmen from various countries and regions, who will focus their assessment on what they produce and export, in the same way that it will open doors and opportunities to strengthen cooperation among themselves and create partnerships. The important thing is that the forum contributes to a better reciprocal knowledge between the participants, as well as to the production and use of its products.
ANGOP – What does the fact that this Summit is the first to be held in the Organisation of States format mean?
GC – It is the first because the Georgetown Agreement was only revised in 2020, after the 9th Summit. This revision gave the “green light” so that the members of the then ACP could have other partners, even without being part of the organisation.
ANGOP – What is your assessment of the implementation of the Action Plan adopted at the 9th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the OACPS, held in 2019, in the Republic of Kenya?
GC – Until that date, we accomplished most of the objectives that came out of the 9th Summit, which were the question of the revision of the Georgetown Agreement, the creation of the different bodies and the Business Forum. This entire agenda was proposed at the 9th Summit, in order to be part of the programme for the 10th Summit, which will take place in Luanda.
ANGOP – In some cases, the new partnership between the European Union (EU) and the OACPS still has some gray areas, especially in the chapters on the fight against terrorism and money laundering, which has negatively affected some of the members of the OACPS. Any comments on this statement?
GC – Yes. That is why our union and our solidarity are important. In fact, the lists that are established by our partners are often discriminatory, without providing evidence that a particular country is money laundering or linked to the financing of terrorism. Many of the countries on that list are those that have nothing to do with these practices. In this sense, one of the paths to follow to clarify these gray areas is to have a true and profound discussion between the partners, so that this discrimination ceases and some of our countries are placed on these lists. Countries must be heard and investigated before being placed on the lists. The struggle, at the level of the ambassadors, is to see if we can establish fair and correct principles that can allow our countries to understand how they appear on those lists and how they must defend themselves. Likewise, this may allow, in the event of errors, to be corrected so that they are not considered, necessarily and unfairly, as money laundering or financing of terrorism. These are serious accusations that affect many of our countries. For this reason, all of this has to merit transparent work, participatory work, before establishing this type of accusations.
Complementary data
After having been Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Angola, Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti assumed the position of minister, from 26 November 2010 to 28 September 2017; he was Angola’s ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg and permanent representative of Angola to the European Union (EU), in Brussels, from 2018 to 2020.
The Secretary General of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), since March 1, 2020, elected at a session of the Council of Ministers of that organisation, in Nairobi (Kenya).
In the run-up to his election, he defeated Brave Rona Ndisale (Malawi) and Chifamba Tadeus Tafirenyika (Zimbabwe).
The OEACP was created in 1975 through the Georgetown Agreement in the capital of the Republic of Guyana, initially under the name of the Group of African, Caribbean and Pacific Countries (ACP).
It was renamed the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) in April 2020, following the entry into force of the revised Georgetown Agreement.
It is an international organisation made up of 79 member countries located in three geographic regions (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific).
Since its creation, in 1975, it has established a cooperation partnership with the European Union (EU), regulated by the Lomé Conventions (Lomé I, Lomé II, Lomé III and Lomé IV), which were in force until 2000, when they were replaced by the Agreement of Cotonou, signed on 23 June of the same year, making it the oldest and most comprehensive partnership between the EU and developing countries.
The Cotonou Agreement, signed in the Beninese capital for a period of 20 years (2000-2020), had as its main objectives the reduction of poverty and, in the long term, its eradication, as well as the progressive integration of the ACP countries into the world economy, in line with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
It provided for its review every five years, until 2020, but its provisions were extended until 30 June 2022.
With the end of its term, formal negotiations were held between the EU and the OACPS to define a new relationship framework, whose official conclusion took place on April 15, 2021.
The Summit of Heads of State and Government of the organisation is the supreme body that defines its general policy guidance.
It takes place regularly, since 1997 and is chaired by the head of state or government of the organising country.
The ninth summit took place in December 2019 in Nairobi, Kenya.
Source: Angola Press News Agency
