/ MEDIA STATEMENT / The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

Economic Development Minister Ebrahim Patel will lead a South African delegation to the 8th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) to be held in the Independent State of Papua New Guinea from 31 May to 01 June 2016.

Of importance during the Summit will be the presentation of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) Final Report, which will focus on the "Future of the ACP Post 2020" under the theme: "Repositioning the ACP Group to respond to the Challenges of Sustainable Development".

A key element of South Africa's South-South and North-South engagement is the ACP, which is the largest tricontinental association of developing countries. It was created by the Georgetown Agreement in 1975 and its 79 members comprise 48 Sub Saharan states, as well as 15 Pacific and 16 Caribbean states, totalling 920 million people.

The current Cotonou Partnership Agreement (CPA), signed with the European Union in 2000 expires in 2020 and unites more than half of the world's nations. It is built on three pillars of (1) trade and economic cooperation, (2) development assistance (3) and political dialogue that focusses on issues such as human rights and democratic governance.

Issued by Department of International Relations and Cooperation