africa-eubusiness&developmentlondonevent

Event Venue: The Secretariat of The African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, (ACP Headquarters), Avenue Georges Henri 451, 1200 Brussels, Belgium

For more information, please email bertha@okraexpress.com

CONFIRMED GUEST SPEAKERS

We have a good line up of impressive Guest Speakers include:

Mr. Philippe Darmuzey, Head of Unit, Directorate - General, Development, and Relations with African, Caribbean and Pacific States, European Commission, Brussels
His Excellency, Dr. Anil Sooklal, Ambassador of South African to the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Chief of Mission to the European Union. Embassy of South Africa, Brussels.
Mr. Renier Nijskens, Director Africa Department Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation Belgium - Belgium Foreign Office
His Excellency, Ambassador Mr. Mahamet Annadif, Ambassador, African Union Representative to the European Union, Permanent Mission in Brussels. African Union
Her Excellency, Mrs Maria-Manuela Dos Santos Lucas, Ambassador of the Republic of Mozambique to the Kingdom of Belgium and the Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, and Chief of the Mission of the Republic of Mozambique to the European Commission. Embassy of Mozambique, Brussels.

CONFIRMED CHAIR PERSON

· Mr. Geert Laporte is Head of Institutional Relations and Partnerships at European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM), an independent foundation based in Maastricht and Brussels that specializes in EU-ACP (Africa, Caribbean, Pacific) and EU-Africa relations.

The discussions will be in both English and French. Qualified interpreters and translators will be in attendance to ensure that all the discussions are not lost in translation.

EVENT OUTLINE

In December 2007, Heads of State from AFRICA and the EU adopted a joint AFRICA – EU Strategy (JAES). This strategy was meant to be a turning point in EU —AFRICA Relations. It is based on strengthened political dialogue, common value and interests between AFRICA and the EU.

While the JAES has great potential to fundamentally reverse cooperation between AFRICA and EU, it faces implementation challenges. In the run-up-to the Third AFRICA – EU Summit later this year, there is increasing pressure to show concrete results. It is against this backdrop that okra eXpress has invited high level speakers to participate in an exciting panel discussion on the EU – AFRICA Partnership.

Panelists will set out their views on the following key questions followed by a Q&A session.

1. What is the state of progress with the implementation of the JAES?

2. Did the JAES succeed in building a new type of political partnership between Europe and AFRICA based on common interests, principles of equality on an equal footing, policy coherence and complementarities with other frameworks (EG, Cotonou)?

3. What are the expectations for the upcoming EU – Summit at the end of 2010?

In addition to these generic questions, each panellist has been invited to address other specific questions, including the following:

Where does the EU stand knowing that African countries have more dealings with China, Japan and others?
What is the EU’s strategy for Africa and how it compares with other international players on the continent?
What are your expectations of the EU presidency in relation to strengthen the EU AFRICA Partnership?
How effective is the Joint AFRICA EU Strategy (JAES) to achieve that objective?
What would the EU like to discuss at the upcoming AFRICA EU Summit? What are the key questions?

This event will be the fifth in the series of EU in AFRICA Events project managed and hosted by okra eXpress since the December 2007 Lisbon Declaration and the Joint Africa Europe Strategy (JAES) which was adopted at the - EU AFRICA Summit by the heads of state and government of both continents.

This event will also showcase the investment opportunities in Mozambique along with creative artwork to mark the 35th year of independence in Mozambique.

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