6TH SUMMIT OF ACP HEADS OF STATE AND GOVERNMENT, ACCRA, GHANA, 2-3 OCTOBER 2008

openingThe Government of Ghana hosted the 6th Summit of ACP Heads of State and Government in Accra, Ghana from 2 to 3 October 2008 under the theme “Human Security and Development. About 3000 delegates including twenty-three Presidents and Prime Ministers and over 120 Ministers from ACP states participated in the conference.
        The Summit was preceded by the meeting of the ACP Council of Ministers and the joint meeting of the ACP Council of Ministers and ACP Ministers of Foreign Affairs. 
        The opening session of the 6th Summit was addressed by H.E John Agyekum Kufuor, President of the Republic of Ghana who assumed the Presidency of the ACP Group for 2 years; H.E. Omer Hassan EL Bashir, President of Sudan and Out-going President of the ACP Group; Sir John Kaputin, Secretary-General of the ACP Group and other invited guests from Australia (H.E. Robert Hill, Prime Minister of Australia’s Special Representative  to the ACP Summit) and the European Union (Mrs. Glenys Kinnock, Co-President of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly and Mr. Louis Michel, EU Commissioner  for Development and Humanitarian Aid).

        Under the chairmanship of President John Agyekum Kufuor, the 6th Summit of ACP Heads of State and Government discussed the following issues:

  • Current world food price and oil crisis
  • Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs)
  • Financial crisis
  • The Future of the ACP Group
  • Climate Change
  • Millennium Development Goals

At the end of the Summit, the ACP Heads of State and Government adopted the Accra Declaration on the theme of the Summit and a Decision on the Economic Partnership Agreements. The ACP leaders also agreed to explore the creation of an ACP Free Trade Area.

Side Events
         A number of side events were held during the Summit including:

  • A visit to the Elmina Castle
  • Exhibition of made in Ghana products
  • Forum on Good Governance with the theme of “Women in Politics”
  • A durbar of Chiefs

A special Ramadan celebration was held on 30 September 2008.

A copy of the Accra Declaration and the Decision on the EPAs can
be downloaded from the Summit website: acpsummit-accra.org.

2nd Meeting of ACP Ministers of Education, Brussels, 20-23 October 2008

The 2nd meeting of ACP Ministers of Education was held in Brussels at the ACP House from 20-23 October 2008.  The meeting was chaired by Honourable Ms. Elizabeth Ohene, Minister of State at the Ministry of Education, and Science & Sport of Ghana. The ACP Ministers of Education discussed the role of education in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Ministers shared experiences on how education was being funded in their respective regions and outlined strategies that would put education at the centre-stage of efforts to attain the MDGs.

At the end of their deliberation, the Ministers adopted a twenty – point Brussels Resolution on the role of education in achieving the MDGs. The Resolution is expected to strengthen the already existing Brussels Framework on Education and Sustainable Development which was adopted in May 2006 in ACP states.

See pictures below

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
© 2006 Ghana Embassy, Brussels