20 Feb 2024

Two Members of Parliament are in Luanda, Angola to attend the 64^th Session of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) Parliamentary Assembly and the First Session of the OACPS-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly under the Samoa Agreement.

The two are MP for Kgalagadi South, Mr Sam Brooks and Member of Parliament for Ngami, Mr Caterpillar Hikuama.

A statement from the National Assembly indicates that the meeting was scheduled to take place on February 17 - 21.

The statement explains that Botswana signed the new OACPS-EU Partnership Agreement (Samoa Agreement) in December 2023.

“The Samoa Agreement is rooted in the long history of cooperation between OACPS, the European Union (EU), and their respective member states. 

It is based on the shared values of respect for human rights, democratic principles, the rule of law and good governance,” the statement says.

It states that the OACPS-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly was expected to discuss and exchange views on the new Partnership Agreement, established by the Samoa Agreement, and the meetings were held under the theme; A New Dawn in OACPS-EU Relations: Towards People-Led Partnership.

“Members of the European Parliament will meet their counterparts to launch the new joint institutions and to celebrate the entering into force of the Samoa Agreement, signed on November 15, 2023, replacing the Cotonou Agreement adopted in 2000 and the former Lomé Convention of 1975,” says the statement. Ends