Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade
\nAgba has decried\u00a0 the dire consequences that illicit financial flows
\nhave on the progress and development of the African, Caribbean and
\nPacific (ACP) countries.<\/p>\n
Speaking at the head of a Nigerian delegation to the 110th session of
\nACP Group of States’ Council of Ministers’ meeting in Nairobi, Kenya on
\nSunday, Agba identified with the Council’s decision to urge the European
\nUnion (EU) for support in stemming the tide.<\/p>\n
He took the opportunity of his remarks\u00a0 to commend the out-going
\nSecretary-General of the ACP, Dr Patrick Gomes, for his leadership of
\nthe ACP Secretariat and contribution to the advancement and development
\nof the ACP member States during the past five years.<\/p>\n
The Minister also underscored the need to pay close attention to
\nmember-States’ relative contributions to the group and rallied his
\ncounterparts from the West African regional bloc to canvass for an
\nequitable distribution of the ACP Secretariat’s management positions.<\/p>\n
A statement issued by Nigeria’s Ministry of Finance, Budget and National
\nPlanning in Nairobi said that the Council consequently adopted a
\ndeclaration for creation of an additional post of Assistant
\nSecretary-General to balance-out the regional slots for equity and
\nfairness.<\/p>\n
According to the statement, the minister also noted the relevance of the
\nCentre for Transformation of Agriculture (CTA) based in Holland to the
\ndevelopment of the dominantly-agrarian economies of the ACP
\nmember-States.<\/p>\n
Agba was said to have emphasised\u00a0 “the need for continuity in its
\noperations beyond February 2020 when the financial commitments under the
\nACP-EU Cotonou Partnership Agreement is expected to end.”<\/p>\n
The ACP Group of States Council of Ministers Meeting in Nairobi, Kenya
\non 6th \u2013 8th December, 2019 was part of the events leading to the 9th
\nSummit of the ACP Heads of State and Government scheduled to convene on
\n9th \u2013 10th December, 2019.<\/p>\n
According to the statement, “The fundamental objective of the ACP Group,
\nwhich was created through the Georgetown Agreement in 1975, is to
\nengender sustainable development and poverty reduction within its 79
\nmember States, as well as their greater integration into the world’s
\neconomy.<\/p>\n
“The Group has evolved from its structured cooperation with the European
\nUnion (EU) as its main development partner, to be a major platform for
\nSouth-South and Triangular cooperation.<\/p>\n
“As part of its governance structure, the ACP Council of Ministers is
\ndirectly engaged in policy making and monitoring the implementation of
\ndirectives of the Summit of Heads of State including the relevant
\nprovisions of the ACP \u2013 EU Partnership.<\/p>\n
“The 9th Summit of the ACP themed “A Transformed ACP: Committed to
\nMultilateralism” is coming at an auspicious time when the ACP and EU is
\npreparing to finalise negotiations for a new 20-year Partnership
\nAgreement, as well as, the revision of its Constitutive Act, the
\nGeorgetown Agreement.”<\/p>\n
Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Ikanade Agba has decried\u00a0 the dire consequences that illicit financial flows have on the progress and development of the African,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":58203,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other-news"],"yoast_head":"\n