Brussels, 22 July 2014/ ACP: Following confirmation by the Council of Ministers last month that the Caribbean region will hold the post of Secretary General of the Brussels-based ACP Secretariat for the 2015-2020 period, the Committee of Ambassadors have designated which regions to nominate candidates for the four Assistant Secretary-General posts.

The Committee of Ambassadors was mandated by the Council of Ministers to make the decision based on consensus, as well as the principle of rotation and equal opportunity for each ACP region to be represented at a managerial position in the ACP system. The Committee confirmed the following at their meeting on Thursday 17th July:

  • Assistant Secretary General in charge of Sustainable Economic Development and Trade – West Africa

  • Assistant Secretary General in charge of Political Affairs and Human Development – Central Africa

  • Assistant Secretary General in charge of Macroeconomics, Development Finance and Intra-ACP Programming – Southern Africa

  • Assistant Secretary General in charge of Administration, Finance and Human Resources – Pacific

The Directorship of the Technical Centre for Rural and Agricultural Cooperation (CTA) – the ACP-EU institution dealing with food and nutritional security and natural resource management in ACP countries – will be taken up by Eastern Africa when the tenure of the incumbent, who is from Ethiopia, is renewed.

Each region is now invited to put forward qualified nominees for the respective positions. The Secretary General, who will be named at the next ACP Council of Ministers meeting in Suriname on3-4 November, shall make the final appointments of Assistant Secretary Generals based on merit and competence.

This management team remains for a five year term, leading the Secretariat in executing its role as the administrative and technical arm of the ACP Group. The Secretariat, which employs nearly 100 staff, provides policy guidance and technical expertise to the Organs of the Group, and monitors the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement.

The upcoming period is especially significant for management, as it will see the last leg of ACP-EU cooperation under the current Cotonou Partnership Agreement, which ends in 2020.

– ACP Press