Fiji’s new Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations Offices in Geneva, Switzerland Ambassador Luke Daunivalu led Fiji`s delegation at the 114th Session of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (OACPS) Council of Ministers which recently took place in Brussels from 8 to 9 June 2022.
At this meeting of the Council, Ministers responsible for OACPS matters from 79 Member States amongst others, deliberated and adopted decisions on the work undertaken by the five departments of the OACPS on ongoing projects financed by the European Development Fund (EDF).
Issues covered at the meeting included in trade, fisheries and aquaculture, as well as negotiations with the European Union over its list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions and that of third countries.
Another important area of concern to the Ministers was the state of play of the new OACPS-EU Partnership Agreement, the ongoing restructuring of the OACPS Secretariat and the upcoming 10th Summit of OACPS Heads of State and Government, which is to take place in December 2022 in Luanda, Angola.
Ambassador Daunivalu participated in the deliberation and debate of a spectrum of administrative, financial and strategic work of the OACPS.
He emphasized the need for prudent financial management of the organisation for its long term financial sustainability and stability and its aspiration of becoming a pillar-compliant organisation. He called for greater geographical diversity and distribution on recruitment of the staff members of the organisation especially from the Pacific region. He also called for international cooperation on engagement with the OACPS Diaspora in recognition of the huge contribution made by diaspora towards the socio-economic development of their countries through remittance and investment.
Fiji is a founding member of the OACPS, which is an organisation created by the Georgetown Agreement in 1975. As part of the Organisation, Fiji benefits from various development programmes and projects administered and implemented by the OACPS through its partnership with the European Union.
The Council of Ministers is the main decision-making body for the OACPS. It is the supreme body responsible for implementing the guidelines laid down by the Summit. The Council is composed of a member of Government from each Member of the OACPS or a government-designated representative and meets twice annually.
First Secretary Shanil Dayal provided support to Ambassador Daunivalu in Brussels.
