Back and Next - Back and NextGambia ratifies ACP/EC revised partnership agreement
Friday, December 14, 2007
The Gambia has joined the list of countries in ratifying the revised partnership agreement between the Member States of the African, Carribean and Pacific Group (ACP) and the European Community (EC) and its member states.The agreement was ratified by the National Assembly at its fourth-meeting in the 2007 legislative year on Wednesday.
The partnership agreement commonly referred to as the Cotonou Agreement is for a duration of 20 years ranging from 2000 to 2020 to be reviewed every five years. The ACP/EC Council of Ministers revised the partnerhip agreement betwen the ACP and the EC signed in Cotonou on the 23rd June 2000 and in Luxemburg on July 25 2003. The 2005 revision was the first revision of the partnership agreement.
According to Musa Gibril Bala Gaye, secretary of state for Finance and Economic Affairs who tabled the agreement before the Assembly the objective of the first revision was to ensure the responsiveness of the partnerhip agreement to the evolving global environment.
The revision,he went on has not change the core pillars of the partnership agreement which continues to focus on the objectives of poverty reduction, sustainable development and the progresive integration of the ACP states into the global economy.
The revision also recognises the Mellennium Development Goals (MDGs), the principles and targets for the development as set out by the United Nations conference to guide ACP/EEC cooperation.
He said that the significant elements of the revision comprised of the political dimension-which has been enlarged to include security isues, notably collaboration in the fight against terrorism,financial and technical assistance in the area of cooperation to counter the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction . In this respect,he said the EC will put in place specific new instruments for financing, other than those intended for the financing of the ACP/EC cooperation.
On the deepening of participatory process element, SoS Gaye noted that provisoion have been included to facilitate non-state actor and local government authorities access to indicative programme resources under a strategy to be approved by the Commision and the ACP states concerned.
On the development strategies, SoS Gaye revealed that the results of the revision included the inclusion of the MDGs in the preamble of the agreement threby reaffirming the partners’ commitment to the goal; promotion of the fight against poverty-related disease and the protection of sexual and reproductive health and lives of women; promotion of the participation of young people in public life and on ACP/EC cooperation and promotion of traditional knowledge as part of sectoral economic development.
He then stated that the revised implementtion and managemnt procedures includes strengthening the strategic role of the National Authorising Officer for the European Development Fund (EDF) and a number of changs have been made to further simplify the EDF procdures. The tenth EDF financial resources according to him, an indicative amount of Euros 22 billion and 682 Million has been earmarked for the period 2008 to 2013.
For their part,deputies questioned the sincerity of EC on the whole issue and urged the government to critically examined the benefit of its people.
The partnership agreement commonly referred to as the Cotonou Agreement is for a duration of 20 years ranging from 2000 to 2020 to be reviewed every five years. The ACP/EC Council of Ministers revised the partnerhip agreement betwen the ACP and the EC signed in Cotonou on the 23rd June 2000 and in Luxemburg on July 25 2003. The 2005 revision was the first revision of the partnership agreement.
According to Musa Gibril Bala Gaye, secretary of state for Finance and Economic Affairs who tabled the agreement before the Assembly the objective of the first revision was to ensure the responsiveness of the partnerhip agreement to the evolving global environment.
The revision,he went on has not change the core pillars of the partnership agreement which continues to focus on the objectives of poverty reduction, sustainable development and the progresive integration of the ACP states into the global economy.
The revision also recognises the Mellennium Development Goals (MDGs), the principles and targets for the development as set out by the United Nations conference to guide ACP/EEC cooperation.
He said that the significant elements of the revision comprised of the political dimension-which has been enlarged to include security isues, notably collaboration in the fight against terrorism,financial and technical assistance in the area of cooperation to counter the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction . In this respect,he said the EC will put in place specific new instruments for financing, other than those intended for the financing of the ACP/EC cooperation.
On the deepening of participatory process element, SoS Gaye noted that provisoion have been included to facilitate non-state actor and local government authorities access to indicative programme resources under a strategy to be approved by the Commision and the ACP states concerned.
On the development strategies, SoS Gaye revealed that the results of the revision included the inclusion of the MDGs in the preamble of the agreement threby reaffirming the partners’ commitment to the goal; promotion of the fight against poverty-related disease and the protection of sexual and reproductive health and lives of women; promotion of the participation of young people in public life and on ACP/EC cooperation and promotion of traditional knowledge as part of sectoral economic development.
He then stated that the revised implementtion and managemnt procedures includes strengthening the strategic role of the National Authorising Officer for the European Development Fund (EDF) and a number of changs have been made to further simplify the EDF procdures. The tenth EDF financial resources according to him, an indicative amount of Euros 22 billion and 682 Million has been earmarked for the period 2008 to 2013.
For their part,deputies questioned the sincerity of EC on the whole issue and urged the government to critically examined the benefit of its people.
Author: by Alhagie Jobe
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