The 8th Summit of ACP Heads of State and Government,

– Meeting in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea from 31 May to 1 June 2016,

RECALLING the objectives of the Georgetown Agreement, including consolidating and strengthening the unity and solidarity of the ACP Group;

HAVING REGARD to Article 7 of the Georgetown Agreement on the Summit of ACP Heads of State and Government;

HAVING REGARD to Paragraph 71 of the Sipopo Declaration and Decision No.2/XVI/12 of the 7th Summit of ACP Heads of State and Government regarding the presentation, at its next Summit of Heads of State and Government, of the outcome of the work of the Committee of Ambassadors Working Group and the Eminent Persons Group tasked with reflecting on the future of the ACP Group;

HAVING RECEIVED the Final Report of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG), submitted by its Chairperson, Chief Olusegun OBASANJO, former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria;

ACCEPTING the request of the Member States for expeditious in-depth analysis and consultations on the Report and recommendations of the EPG at regional and national levels;

NOTING the urgent need for reform of the ACP as well as the need to prepare for negotiations commencing in 2018 on the future of ACP-EU relations;

HEREBY DECIDES TO:

1. Take note and accept the Report of the EPG, and commend EPG members for the excellent quality of their Report;

2. Mandate the Council of Ministers, subject to the outcomes of the consultations at regional and national levels, to put in place implementation modalities for recommendations of the EPG report, by the end of 2016 and report to the Summit thereafter;

3. Further mandate the ACP Council of Ministers to implement the recommendations of the EPG Report on the establishment of the Endowment Fund.

Port Moresby, 1st June 2016