Brussels, 6 December 2013/ ACP: The Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Samoa, Hon. Tuilaepa Lupesoliai Sailele Malielegaoi is confirmed to preside over the 98^th session of the Council of Ministers for the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group.

The meeting, scheduled for the 9^th till 11^th of December 2013, will bring together officials from the 79 member states in Brussels to deliberate and take decisions on policies for the Group. The Council of Ministers is the organisation’s highest decision-making body under the Summit of Heads of State.

Key items for on the agenda include the future perspectives of the ACP Group; trade matters covering the ACP-EU Economic Partnership Agreements, ACP positions at the WTO ministerial conference, and issues on commodities (bananas, sugar, cotton); ACP-EU development finance cooperation; and budget issues for the Secretariat.

Other issues for discussion include the ACP’s position on the post-2015 development agenda; private sector development strategy; the fight against terrorism; and the ratification of the second revision of the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement (Cotonou Agreement).

(Pictures: Samoan Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi)

– ACP Press