OACPS sets course for reform, global relevance

MALABO: LEADERS of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) have called for urgent institutional and systemic reforms to strengthen the bloc’s capacity to address global challenges, including political conflicts, wars and the impacts of climate change.

They emphasised that timely financial contributions from member states, investment in human capital, innovation and the use of artificial intelligence are key to making the OACPS a more effective and self reliant global actor.

Vice-President Dr Emmanuel Nchimbi represented President Samia Suluhu Hassan at the 11th Summit of Heads of State and Government of the OACPS, held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.

Tanzania’s participation underscores its commitment to actively engaging in regional and international platforms while contributing to discussions on sustainable development and multilateral cooperation.

The opening session also highlighted the need to promote intra-regional trade, strengthen collaboration with other regional blocs and empower youth and women to play a central role in economic and social transformation.

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At the summit, President João Lourenço of Angola handed over the chairmanship of the OACPS to President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea.

The OACPS, comprising 79 member states, was established in the 1970s to promote economic and political cooperation among countries in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific that were formerly colonised by European nations.

Its legal foundation was formalised on June 6, 1975, through the Georgetown Agreement, and in April 2020, the organisation was rebranded from the ACP Group to the OACPS.

The summit, held under the theme “A Transformed and Renewed OACPS at the Service of an Inclusive, Sustainable and Trust-Based Multilateralism,” reflects the organisation’s strategic shift toward becoming a stronger, more self-reliant global actor.

Vice-President Nchimbi is accompanied by Zanzibar’s Minister for Agriculture, Irrigation, Natural Resources and Livestock, Suleiman Masoud Makame, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, James Milya, Tanzania’s Ambassador to Equatorial Guinea (based in the Democratic Republic of Congo), Said Mshana and Tanzania’s Ambassador to Belgium and the European Union, Jestas Nyamanga.