Two OECS Member States Move to Ratify the Revised Georgetown Agreement
OECS Media Release
Friday, March 20, 2020 — Two OECS Member States, namely Saint Kitts and Nevis and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, which are also members of the 79 member African, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP) grouping, recently affixed their signatures to ratify the Revised Georgetown Agreement.
With these signatures, the ACP is now closer to realising its goal of becoming the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS). The signing of the Agreement by several Member States in the second week of March 2020 has enabled the ACP to reach the established quota of one-third of its members required for the Agreement to go into force in 30 days.
The Revised Georgetown Agreement will see the ACP newly constituted as an international organisation that will be called the Organisation of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (OACPS), focused and committed to multilateralism. The new international organisation will span transcontinental boundaries and be empowered to address the issues that impact Member States’ development.
The new Secretary General of the ACP Group, H.E. Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti opined,
“That we have come along this far is a testament to the dedicated team that worked on the revision, our Member States for supporting it and all persons who have contributed to making this recommendation, arising out of the 7th and 8th Summit of ACP Heads of State and Government, a reality. We can now prepare to implement the provisions of the revised Agreement, which will have far-reaching consequences for the ACP Group and regions.”
About the Georgetown Agreement and the Revised Georgetown Agreement:
The Georgetown Agreement, created in 1975, is the Constitutive Act of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) which aims to ensure sustainable development and poverty reduction within the ACP’s Member States.
The revised Agreement includes significant changes to the organisation including a name change from the ACP Group of States to the Organisation of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (OACPS). The Agreement was approved by the Member States at the 110th Session of the ACP Council of Ministers and subsequently endorsed by the ACP Heads of States and Government at the 9th Summit in Nairobi, Kenya in December 2019 via the Nairobi Nguvu Ya Pamoja Declaration. At the Summit, Member States were invited to sign or ratify the Revised Agreement.
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