Ref: 2024/PR/158
The Maldives has signed the “Partnership Agreement between the European Union (EU) and its Member States, of the one part, and the Members of the Organisation of the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), of the other part”, also known as the “Samoa Agreement” at a signing ceremony in the OACPS headquarters in Brussels today. The Agreement was signed by Geela Ali, Ambassador of the Republic of Maldives to the Kingdom of Belgium, on behalf of the Maldives. The Maldives also submitted declarations and reservations to specific articles of the Agreement at the time of signature.
The Agreement will serve as an overarching framework for the relationship between the European Union and OACPS for the next twenty years. It will strengthen the capacity of OACPS member countries to address global challenges and will focus on the priority areas of democracy and human rights, sustainable economic growth and development, climate change, human and social development, peace and security and migration and mobility as key priority areas.
The Agreement also marks the first partnership agreement that the Maldives has signed with the European Union and will enable further enhancement of cooperation in a multitude of areas including, economic development, trade, environment and climate change. It will also enable OACPS Member States to realise several benefits from the EU.
The Samoa Agreement brings together 79 member states of the OACPS and 27 member states of European Union to represent close to 2 billion people with diverse socio-economic backgrounds representing more than half of the Member States of the United Nations.
The OACPS, comprising of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, was established in 1975 under the “Georgetown Agreement”. The Maldives became a full member of the OACPS on 9 December 2022 and has been working together with members of the OACPS and the European Union to address global challenges.
ENDS