Brussels, 31 May 2013/ ACP Press Release: Ministers and officials from up to 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries will be in Brussels next week for a series of key meetings on development, trade and political agendas for the ACP Group.

The ACP Council of Ministers (4-5 June) and the Joint ACP-EU Council of Ministers (6-7) June will tackle central issues of the ACP-EU partnership, including the amount and management procedures of the 11th European Development Fund, negotiations of Economic Partnership Agreements, political dialogue on migration, and the accession of Somalia to the Cotonou Accord.

The ACP ministers will also look at the future perspectives of the ACP Group, following up on discussions at the Heads of State summit in December, and the creation of the Eminent Persons Group earlier this year to explore post-2015 outlooks.

Current President for the ACP Council of Ministers is Botswana’s Foreign Affairs Minister Hon. Phandu Skelemani. He will join the Minister of State for Trade and Development of Ireland Mr. Joe Costello to co-chair the 38th session of the Joint Council.

The ACP-EU Joint Council of Ministers is the highest decision-making body of the ACP-EU partnership framework.

– ACP Press