Solomon Islands Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Hon. Jeremiah Manele, is in Apia, Samoa, this week, for the Signing Ceremony of the Samoa Agreement, between the Organization of the Africa, Caribbean, and Pacific States (OACPS) and European Union (EU).
The Foreign Minister arrived in Apia following his engagements at the 52nd Pacific Islands Leaders Forum in Rarotonga, Cook Islands last week.
The signing of the Samoa Agreement will be preceded by ministerial sessions of the OACPS Council of Ministers meeting and the Joint OACPS-EU Council of Ministers meeting, respectively.
The signing ceremony of the Samoa Agreement will take place on 15 November 2023, and will replace its predecessor – the Cotonou Agreement which was signed in 2000.
Negotiations for the new OACPS-EU partnership agreement began in 2018 and concluded in 2020, with the initialing of the final draft text by Chief Negotiators in April 2021.
The Samoa Agreement marks a milestone achievement of the OACPS and the EU cooperation, highlighting collective priorities in the areas of economic development, environment sustainability, climate change, oceans governance, peace, security, democracy and governance, migration, and mobility, human and social development.