Tayebwa Demands Fairer OACPS-EU Partnership as Joint Assembly Opens in Brussels

What the report says

Deputy Speaker of Parliament Thomas Tayebwa has urged the European Union and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) to build a more balanced partnership that produces clear economic gains for member countries. According to Nile Post, Tayebwa made the remarks on Monday at the opening of the OACPS-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly in Brussels, where lawmakers from Africa, the Caribbean, the Pacific and Europe have gathered to discuss future cooperation.

Tayebwa, who also leads the OACPS Parliamentary Assembly, said collaboration should go beyond political goodwill and instead support investment, local value addition, skills development and decent jobs. He argued that member states should be able to process more of their own raw materials at home and benefit more fully from trade and industrial development. He also called for climate finance that is accessible and affordable, warning that support for vulnerable countries should not deepen debt burdens.

The meeting is taking place from November 9 to 13 and is being co-chaired by Tayebwa and European Parliament representative Francisco Assis. The agenda includes global security, multilateralism, ocean protection, development financing and critical raw materials. The article says the assembly is also intended to press for faster ratification of the Samoa Agreement, which provides the wider framework for OACPS-EU cooperation on trade, sustainable development, governance, peace and security.