Namibia to host the ACP-EU meeting

The government has accepted the European Union’s invitation to host the 31st Session of the African Caribbean and Pacific European Union Joint Parliamentary Assembly (ACP-EU JPA) that will take place in Windhoek from 8 to 15 June at the Safari Court Hotel and Conference Centre.
The formal opening of the session will take place on 13 June. The ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly is an event co-organised by the ACP Assembly and the European Parliament. The ACP-EU JPA has been created out of a common desire to bring together the elected representatives of the European Community – the members of the European Parliament and elected representatives of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Member States that have signed the Cotonou Agreement.
The JPA was instituted to work towards objectives such as the eradication of poverty, sustainable growth and integration of ACP countries into the world economy. A substantial part of the work of the JPA is directed towards promoting human rights and democracy and the common values of humanity.
Jakes Jacobs, Technical Advisor to the National Assembly said, the Assembly will consist of three standing Committees, which were created in 2003 to draw up substantive proposals which are then voted on by the Joint Parliamentary Assembly. These Committees work on matters such as political affairs, economic development, finance, trade and environment.
The representatives of the 78 ACP states, under the Cotonou Agreement, must be members of Parliament, meet their 78 European Parliament counterparts in plenary session for one week twice a year.
Jacobs said,“This year’s JPA will be a momentous event for Namibia in particular, but also for all stakeholders and participants to join and benefit from the rich array of topics that will be discussed as well as the selection of speakers, expertise and events that will take place during this period”.
The following personalities will attend the formal opening of the ACP-EU JPA: Hon. Prof. Peter H. Katjavivi, MP & Speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia; Louis Michel: Co-President (EU); Joaquim Baldé: Co-President (ACP); Marco Aguiriano Nalda: Co Secretary-General (EU); Dr. Patrick I Gomes: Co-Secretary-General (ACP) and the Chairman of the ACP Committee of Ambassadors, and other parliamentarians and important dignitaries from around the world.