Brussels, 10 September 2021/OACPS: President of the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, H.E. Mr Umaro Sissoco Embalò visited the Secretariat of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) on Thursday, 9 September 2021 during a working visit to the institutions to the European Union and the OACPS.

Leading a delegation of high-powered government officials from Capital, President Embalò held bilateral discussions with H.E. Mr Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti, Secretary-General of the OACPS, before proceeding to a special sitting of the Committee of Ambassadors in his honour, chaired by H.E. Mr. Màrio de Azevedo Constantino, Ambassador of the Republic of Angola, during which he spoke of the achievements of the Organisation to date and shared his observations on priorities in the wake of the entry-into-force of the Revised Georgetown Agreement and the reaching of a political agreement of the Post-Cotonou Agreement with the European Union (EU).

President Embalò saluted the magnificent work done, and the collaboration between the OACPS and his country, “since Guinea-Bissau’s accreditation to the Georgetown Agreement on 16 June 1975, which allowed us to achieve together many of the goals set out at that time.”

President Embalò also shared his vision for the OACPS of the future: “The intra-ACP partnership in the fields of education and culture in particular, South-South cooperation and the relations between the OACPS and the European Union must be rethought, improved and diversified, involving new instruments and actors, always bearing in mind our own common interests and the emergence of new challenges, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic and, above all, climate change and natural disasters that are increasingly frequent; particularly in the Caribbean, where Haiti has registered yet another tragic earthquake, with enormous human and material losses.”

Pointing out the need to be ever stronger and mutually beneficial with respect to the challenges and questions raised by the Post Cotonou Agreement, President Embalò stated: “The legitimate concerns that still remain and the need for further discussions and clarifications on the form and modalities of this new partnership, require broader consultation, and greater solidarity between Member States and a stronger cohesion in order to guarantee the success of our present actions and in the future.” Specifically, he mentioned, “The issue of sustainable and financially equitable exploitation of the fishery resources of our respective countries and the issue of migratory flows must be highlighted in our agenda.”

In concluding, President Embalò reiterated his country’s firm commitment to the principles and objectives of the OACPS, expressing his own personal commitment to strengthening cooperative ties “intra-ACP and between our respective countries and the European Union, thus contributing to the affirmation of the role of our organization at the international level.”

In his introduction to the President, the Secretary-General of the OACPS made mention of the special significance of the visit, underscoring that, “…your presence this morning, in spite of your very heavy schedule, is a testament, if there was ever need for one, of the interest and commitment that your country, Guinea-Bissau, has always demonstrated towards the Organisation of Africa, Caribbean and Pacific States.”

Click HERE to see the Flickr Album of the President’s visit