Brussels, 15 September 2020/OACPS: The operationalization of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) Information Centre for South-South and Triangular Cooperation, is now assured with the onboarding of the new Head, Mr. Patrice Niyongabo. Before taking up his position at the Centre in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, Mr. Niyongabo is doing an orientation programme at the OACPS’ Brussels-based Secretariat.

A citizen of Burundi, Mr. Niyongabo has extensive knowledge of Africa, having worked extensively within Africa and Europe. A graduate of the Economics School of Louvain, Catholic University of Louvain-La Neuve, in Belgium, Mr. Niyongabo has over 17 years of working experience in corporate administration and financial management, international trade dynamics, development of project and programmes, strategic planning and partnership building. He also has considerable experience of working at a senior managerial level in national, regional, and international organisations. He previously served as Deputy Executive Secretary of the EAC-Lake Victoria Basin Commission where he attended and serviced several ministerial meetings and participated in many high-level taskforces on regional integration and strategic partnership dialogues.

Mr. Niyongabo will be the first employee of the new OACPS Information Centre for South-South and Triangular Cooperation in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. The headquarters agreement for the Centre was signed in August 2019 and the Centre was inaugurated on 5 October 2018 in Malabo. During the speech at the inaugural ceremonies, the President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, H.E. Mr Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, stated that the Centre was, “the manifestation of solidarity between the peoples and countries of the South in order to contribute to their autonomy and to the achievement of the internationally-agreed development goals, especially those related to the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.”

The Centre is expected to deepen partnerships on best practices in development project design and to forge and strengthen cooperation for development, building on the experiences of other stakeholders and bringing together relevant synergies.

The Centre is an important achievement, being the first ever representation of the OACPS which is based in an OACPS Member State as well as a milestone in the promotion and implementation of South-South and Triangular Cooperation.