THE SEVENTH SUMMIT of the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) group of 79 nations has concluded with a determination to move with greater resolve for unity, conscious of its imperative in dealing with the wider international community, in particular the European Union (EU), that comprises former colonizing powers of member states in three continents.
Disunity, bloody political conflicts, including coups and extraterritorial warfare, have plagued some states in Africa, the continent with majority membership in the ACP group.
It is, therefore, encouraging news that the two-day summit in Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea, has agreed to establish an Eminent Persons Group (EPG), with at least one representative from each of the six ACP regions mandated to engage in consultations with all stakeholders to better achieve the goals of the central theme of the 7th Summit, namely, The Future Of The ACP Group In A Changing World – Challenges And Opportunities.
While most of the Heads of Government of our Caribbean Community missed the summit, all of its member states were represented either at ministerial or ambassadorial levels. And St Lucia’s Prime Minister Dr Kenny Anthony, current chairman of CARICOM, would have reflected a widely shared sentiment when he told the opening session of the summit that there was “no alternative to our (ACP) solidarity and unity”.
For Prime Minister Anthony, “if ever the ACP must speak boldly with one voice, and with shared conviction it is now. . .”. And he alluded to the “travails” in Europe and the EU’s Development Policy and how they impact on member states in the three regions of the ACP.
From a Caribbean perspective, the CARICOM chairman would have found much support from heads of other delegations, in particular this region’s two women Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Barbados’ Maxine McLean and Guyana’s Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett.
While Minister McLean focused on the “catastrophic consequences” of the global financial and economic crises on member states of the ACP, her Guyanese counterpart Rodrigues-Birkett was mindful to sound a pertinent reminder ahead of the approval of the summit’s “Malabo Declaration”:
Solidarity and unity, she said, “cannot be a message of convenience . . . . It has to be demonstrated and deepened in practice through intra-ACP cooperation at the political level, in trade and investment and in effectively using development assistance to accomplish the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) . . .”.
Let’s, therefore, see how the Caribbean and its African and Pacific partners proceed from their 7th Summit in Malabo in responding to their chosen theme: The Future Of The ACP Group In A Changing World – Challenges And Opportunities.
