Inauguration of the Eminent Persons Group in charge of the mechanism of rebuilding of the ACP Group & Designation of the ACP Secretary General, Hon. ALHAJI Muhammad MUMUNI, in replacement of Dr Mohamed Ibn CHAMBAS designated by the UN and the AU as their joint Special Envoy to Darfur

In an extraordinary session held in Brussels on 25 – 26 of March, the ACP Council of Ministers has inaugurated the Eminent Persons Group EPG whose mission will be to provide guidance and concrete recommendations for the future of the ACP Group. The Council of Ministers has also designated Hon. Alhaji Muhammad MUMUNI as Secretary-General of the ACP as from April 1st, 2013 in replacement of Dr Mohamed Ibn CHAMBAS who was recently nominated by the United Nations and the African Union as their Special Envoy for Darfur.

EPG

The decision to set up an Eminent Persons Group was taken by the last Summit of ACP Heads of States (Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, December 2012). Independent of their member states, regions or any other party, the Eminent Persons mandate extends 31st December 2014. The 14 members of the group who met in Brussels have designated the former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun OBASANJO, as their Chairperson.

The other members of the Group are: Dr Leonel A. FERNANDEZ REYNA, former president of the Dominican Republic, Hon. Mr Bharrat JAGDEO, former President of Guyana, Mrs Valentine RUGWABIZA, Deputy Director General, World Trade Organisation, Mr Kaliopate TAVOLA, former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Fiji, Dr Libertine AMATHILA, former Deputy Prime Minister, Namibia, Pr. Sebastiao ISATA, special Representative and Head of African Union Liaison office in Guinea Bissau, Pr Ibrahima FALL, former United Nations Assistant Secretary-General, Mrs Patricia FRANCIS, Executive Director, International Trade Centre, Amb. Nuredin SATTI, former Acting Special Representative for the UN Secretary General in Burundi, Mr Sylvain MALIKO, former Minister of Economy, Planning and International Cooperation, Central African Republic, Dr Daoussa BICHARA CHERIF, former Minister of Public works, Transport, Housing and urbanization, Chad, Mr Peter GAKUNU, former Executive Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Mr Kolone VAAI, former Financial Secretary for the Government of Samoa.

Newly appointed ACP Secretary General

The Council has appointed Hon. ALHAJI Muhammad MUMUNI as the Secretary-General of the ACP Group in replacement of Dr Mohamed Ibn CHAMBAS who was recently nominated as the UN and AU Joint Special Envoy to Darfur.

In his farewell remarks the outgoing Secretary-General, Dr Chambas, declared that he was pleased, as he leaves office, that the “Council of Ministers has ensured a smooth and uninterrupted transition by the appointment of my compatriot, Hon. Muhammad MUMUNI, as the Secretary-General to complete my unexpired term. As the immediate past Foreign Affairs Minister of Ghana, he has followed closely the activities of the ACP… You have heard him yourselves and you can discern the zeal, thoughtfulness and determination with which he takes up office. “

The incoming Secretary General, Hon. Muhammad MUMUNI, has underlined the reforms and initiatives undertaken by his predecessor on the future perspectives of the ACP Group, the negotiations of the EPA’s, the Intra-ACP cooperation, South-South and Triangular cooperation “and more importantly, sustaining existing partnerships, while charting new frontiers of cooperation. “I would like, he added, to deepen the internal reforms that the outgoing Secretary-General has already embarked upon, to ensure that the Secretariat is in a better position to serve our principal Authorities and other key stakeholders.”