Minister for Foreign Affairs and External Trade – Hon. Jeremiah Manele, at the Plenary of the 115^th session of the OACPS Council of Ministers

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade Hon. Jeremiah Manele called on the numerical strength of the 78 members of the Organization of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) to address global challenges.

The Foreign Affairs Minister made this statement during the plenary of the 115^tH Session of the OACPS Council of Ministers held from 27 to 28 November in Brussels, Belgium.

The 115th Session of the OACPS Council of Ministers was the first ministerial session held physically since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and provided an opportunity for Ministers of the OACPS to convene and discuss policies, strategies, and administrative issues important to the programs and administration of the organization.

In his statement at the 115th Session of the OACPS Council of Ministers, Minister Manele urged the Council to put more focus on pressing issues and global challenges affecting the OACPS regions’ including, climate change, poverty eradication, youth unemployment, NCDs, health pandemics food and energy security.

He further stressed the need to have these issues reflected at the upcoming 10th Summit of the OACPS Heads of State and Government in Angola.

Foreign Minister Manele stated, ‘We need to work together as a group to support each other to address these challenges and use our numerical strength to enlist the support of our multilateral and bilateral partners in achieving our goals.’

The 115^th Session also provided an avenue for OACPS Ministers to prepare themselves for the 45th session of the ACP-EU Joint Council of Ministers Meeting held on 29 November.

Ministers also received an update on the preparations for the 10th Summit of the OACPS Heads of State and Government scheduled to be held in Luanda, Angola, from 6 to 10 December 2022.

//ENDS