The Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) is a group of

countries A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state (polity), state, nation, or other polity, political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, so ...

in Africa, the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

, and the Pacific that was created by the Georgetown Agreement in 1975. Formerly known as African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP), the organisation's main objectives are sustainable development and poverty reduction within its member states, as well as their greater integration into the world's economy. All of the member states, except Cuba, are signatories to the Cotonou Agreement with the European Union. The Cotonou Agreement (signed in

Cotonou Cotonou (; fon, Kútɔ̀nú) is a city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The ci ...

, Benin, in June 2000) is the successor to the Lomé Conventions. One of the major differences from the Lomé Convention is that the partnership is extended to new actors such as civil society, private sector, trade unions and local authorities. These will be involved in consultations and planning of national development strategies, provided with access to financial resources and involved in the implementation of programmes. Many small island developing states are OACPS states; the fourth Lomé Convention was revised in 1995 in Mauritius and gives special attention to island countries in this agreement. Combined the EU and the members of the OACPS represent over 1.5 billion people and more than half of the seats at the United Nations.

States

Africa

The African OACPS countries negotiate in five Economic Partnership Agreements groups (West Africa, CEMAC, Southern Africa Development Community, East African Community, Eastern and Southern Africa) with the EU.

Caribbean

All countries of the Caribbean Community plus Dominican Republic group negotiate in the

CARIFORUM The Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM) is a subgroup of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States and serves as a base for economic dialogue with the European Union. It was established in 1992. Its membership comprises the 15 Caribbean C ...

Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union (EU).

Pacific

All developing member states of the

Pacific Islands Forum The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation between countries and territories of Oceania, including formation of a trade bloc and regional peacekeeping operations. It was founded in 197 ...

group and Timor-Leste negotiate in the Pacific EPA with the EU.

North Atlantic

In this region are located the EU overseas countries and territories (OCTs) of Greenland and Saint Pierre and Miquelon, but there are no OACPS states.OCT regional groups

South Atlantic

In this region are located the EU OCTs of

Saint Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

and Falkland Islands, but there are no OACPS states. Nevertheless, Saint Helena is developing links with the SADC EPA group.

Uninhabited territories

The uninhabited EU OCTs do not participate in regional integration and do not receive development funding from the EU. *

British Indian Ocean Territory The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) is an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean, halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia. The territory comprises the seven atolls of the Chagos Archipelago with over 1,000 ...

, located in the Indian Ocean * French Southern and Antarctic Territories, located in the Indian Ocean *

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, located in the South Atlantic, thus in a group with the inhabited OCTs there * British Antarctic Territory, located near the South Atlantic, thus in a group with the inhabited OCTs there

Special designations

The Cotonou agreement recognises the specific challenges faced by less developed countries, land-locked countries, and islands in their economic development. Therefore, those countries are granted a more favourable treatment than other OACPS member countries. The text of the Cotonou agreement has been updated in 2005 and 2010, but the lists have not, despite the fact that the actual list of LDCs as defined by the United Nations has changed:

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

has graduated from LDC status in December 2007, while Senegal has acquired the status in 2001 and Timor-Leste in 2003. The following lists should thus not be considered as the actual lists of OACPS LDCs and islands (a few islands are also not listed). Annex VI of the Cotonou agreement lists the following designations:

Least-developed OACPS states

*Angola *Benin *Burkina Faso *Burundi *Cape Verde * the Central African Republic *Chad *Comoros * the Democratic Republic of the Congo *Djibouti *Equatorial Guinea *Eritrea *Ethiopia *Gambia *Guinea *Guinea-Bissau *Haiti *Kiribati *Lesotho *Liberia *Madagascar *Malawi *Mali *Mauritania *Mozambique *Niger *Rwanda *Samoa *São Tomé and Príncipe *Sierra Leone *Solomon Islands *Somalia *Sudan *Tanzania *Tuvalu *Togo *Uganda *Vanuatu *Zambia The Least developed OCTs are the following: Anguilla, Mayotte, Montserrat, Saint Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands, Wallis and Futuna, Saint Pierre and Miquelon.Overseas Association Decision, Annex I B
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Landlocked OACPS states

*Botswana *Burkina Faso *Burundi *Central African Republic *Chad *Ethiopia *Lesotho *Malawi *Mali *Niger *Rwanda *Eswatini *Uganda *Zambia *Zimbabwe

Island OACPS states

*Antigua and Barbuda *Bahamas *Barbados *Cape Verde *Comoros *Cuba *Dominica *Dominican Republic *Fiji *Grenada *Haiti *Jamaica *Kiribati *Madagascar *Mauritius *Nauru *Papua New Guinea *Saint Kitts and Nevis *Saint Lucia *Saint Vincent and the Grenadines *Samoa *São Tomé and Príncipe *Seychelles *Solomon Islands *Tonga *Trinidad and Tobago *Tuvalu *Vanuatu

References

External links

Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of StatesACP-EU cooperation dossier of EuforicAfrican Voices: About EC Aid to AfricaThe Courier - The Magazine of Africa, Caribbean, Pacific and European Union cooperation and relations CTA's magazine on agriculture in ACP countries
''Spore''
Website on EU cooperation for ACP countries
{{DEFAULTSORT:Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States . International organizations based in Africa International organizations based in Oceania International organizations based in the Caribbean International economic organizations International trade organizations Trade blocs Economy of Africa Economy of Oceania Economy of the Caribbean Foreign relations of the Caribbean Intergovernmental organizations established by treaty Organizations established in 1975 1975 establishments in Africa 1981 establishments in Oceania 1970s establishments in the Caribbean 1975 establishments in North America 1975 establishments in South America Politics of Africa Politics of Oceania Politics of the Caribbean United Nations General Assembly observers