05 Jun 2018

A recent African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) council of ministers meeting has adopted a negotiating mandate for a post-Cotonou partnership agreement with the European Union (EU).

Botswana was represented at the meeting held in Lome, Togo  May 27-31 by the Minister of International Affairs and Cooperation Mr Vincent Seretse.

 According to a press release from the ministry, the mandate has three pillars namely trade, investment, industrialisation and services, development cooperation, technology, science innovation and research and political dialogue and advocacy. 

The release says the purpose of the meeting was to prepare for the negotiations of a successor cooperation agreement between ACP and the EU. 

The current agreement (Cotonou Agreement) expires on  February 29, 2020. 

ACP wants to negotiate a new agreement with the EU to help them address the challenges of under-development, poverty, inequality and vulnerability.

As a member of the Central Negotiating Group, Botswana will actively participate in the negotiations scheduled to begin in August this year.

Another important milestone of the meeting, the release says  was the decision to establish an Ad Hoc Ministerial Contact Group on tax matters to engage in dialogue with the EU, concerning the EU List of Non-Cooperative Jurisdictions for Tax Purposes.

From the ACP’s perspective, the dialogue should be comprehensive in relation to taxation issues, including compliance challenges and capacity constraints faced by developing countries in implementing tax policy. 

The 79-member ACP group of states has a long-standing historic and mutually beneficial partnership with the EU dating back to 1975 with the signing of the Lomé I Convention which has  facilitated the on-going exportation of Botswana beef to the lucrative European market.

The convention was followed by successive agreements in the form of Lomé II, Lomé III, Lomé IV and the current Cotonou Agreement of 2000, it says. 

The release says Minister Seretse   also held bilateral meetings on matters of mutual interest with Belgium’s Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, Mr Pieter De Crem; Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, Mr Vaino Reinart; Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal, Ms Teresa Ribeiro, Secretary General/Permanent Secretary Foreign Affairs of Romania, Mr Cosmin Dinescu and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vanuatu, Mr Ralph Regenvanu. ENDS