adminAmbassador to Belgium Ms Mary Margaret Muchada is heading the Zimbabwean delegation which comprises officials from the ministries of Finance, Industry and International Trade, and Agriculture, Mechanisation and Irrigation Development.
Industry and International Trade Minister Professor Welshman Ncube was expected to arrive last night to lead the team.
In his opening remarks, ACP secretary general Dr Mohamed Ibn Chambas said it was time to reconsider relations between the ACP and EU in view of changes taking place and the emergence of such powers as China, Russia, India and South Africa.
“In the coming years, we must make crucial policy choices regarding the reinvention of the ACP as a collective grouping,” he said. “This is not only on account of the realities of the New Europe, it is equally due to new competitive pressures in the global marketplace and the new geo-political configurations that define the character of
our post-Cold War international order. What is essential is to build on our existing strengths while exploring new opportunities opened up by the emerging reconfiguration of economic, technological and geo-political developments.”
Global realignments and major shifts in EU policy orientations on the one hand, and the new opportunities created by emerging economies on the other, demanded a re-look at the future of the ACP-EU relations.
The president of the Council of Ministers Mr Alva Baptiste underscored the need to revisit the ACP-EU engagement as the developing countries seek to strengthen their integration into the global economy.
“Europe itself is changing both in terms of geo-political priorities and institutional architecture,” he said.
“This makes it all the more pressing that we explore all possibilities of reinventing the ACP group and ensuring a more solid basis of our relationship with the EU. Equally imperative is the need to diversify our international economic relations by exploring South-South linkages with the BRICS and other emerging economic powers.”
Online Reporter