East African MPs talk regional integration, peace and security at ACP-EU joint assembly
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| Mauritius (Photo credit: AFRIKASOURCES) |
Brussels, 10 February 2014/ ACP
The island nation of Mauritius will host the 11th regional meeting of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) this week, welcoming parliamentarians from the 15 East African states as well as the European Union to the capital, Port Louis.
Speaker of the National Assembly of Mauritius Hon. Abdool Razak Peeroo and Prime Minister Hon. Navinchandra Ramgoolam are expected to open the 3-day political meeting on Wednesday 12th February, alongside the Co-Presidents of the JPA Hon. Fitz A. Jackson of Jamaica and Hon. Louis Michel of Belgium.
Key topics on the agenda include regional integration and cooperation, with a focus on the Economic Partnership Agreements and financing from the European Development Fund (EDF).
Discussions on peace and security in the region will zero in on piracy, and the prevention of conflict and terrorism.
Other development issues on the agenda: urbanisation challenges, the services industry, and strengthening institutions for democracy and democratic accountability, with presentations scheduled from UN-Habitat, the World Bank and UNECA.
The talks will conclude with the adoption of the Port Louis Communiqué.
It will be the first regional meeting to be co-chaired by Hon. Fitz Jackson of Jamaica since becoming President of the ACP Parliamentary Assembly last November.
Member states of the East African region include Burundi, Comores, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan, South, Tanzania and Uganda.
