Overseas Countries and Territories Association (OCTA; french: Association des pays et territoires d'outre-mer de l'Union européenne, PTOM) is an

international organisation An international organization or international organisation (see spelling differences), also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is a stable set of norms and rules meant to govern the behavior of states an ...

founded on 17 November 2000 during the conference of prime ministers of overseas countries and territories in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. It includes almost all special member state territories of European Union whose purpose is to improve economic development in overseas countries and territories and cooperation with the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. It currently has 13 members. On 25 June 2008, a Cooperation Treaty between the EU and OCTA was signed in Brussels. Prior to

Brexit Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or ...

, until 31 January 2020, there had been 22 Overseas Countries and Territories associated with the European Union and members of OCTA.

Chairmen

Since 2011, the chairmen are chosen annually and their function is to head the organization and elect an Executive Committee. The current and previous chairmen are: *

Reuben Meade Reuben Theodore Meade (born 7 March 1954) is a retired politician from Montserrat who served as the island's first Premier between 2010 and 2014. He previously served as Chief Minister between 1991 and 1996 and 2009 to 2010. A member of the Mov ...

, Premier of Montserrat (1 January – 31 December 2011) *

Kuupik Kleist Jakob Edvard Kuupik Kleist (born 31 March 1958) is a Greenlandic politician who served as the fourth prime minister of Greenland between 2009 and 2013. A member of the Inuit Ataqatigiit party, he was the first Prime Minister not affiliated with S ...

, Prime Minister of

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

(1 January – 31 December 2012) * Stéphane Artano, President of the Territorial Council of

Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Pierre and Miquelon (), officially the Territorial Collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (french: link=no, Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon ), is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France in t ...

(1 January – 31 December 2013) *

Orlando Smith Daniel Orlando Smith, OBE (born 28 August 1944) is a British Virgin Islands politician and the former Premier of the British Virgin Islands from 2011 to 2019 and from 2003 to 2007. He also formerly served as Chief Minister of the British Vi ...

, Premier of

British Virgin Islands ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = Territorial song , song = " Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands" , image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg , map_caption = , mapsize = 290px , image_map2 = Bri ...

(1 January 2014 – 26 February 2015) *

Ivar Asjes Ivar Onno Odwin Asjes (born 16 September 1970 in Rotterdam) is a Curaçaoan politician who served as the 4th Prime Minister of Curaçao from 7 June 2013 to 31 August 2015. He resigned after losing a vote of no-confidence. before becoming prime mini ...

, Prime Minister of Curaçao (26 February 2015 – 31 August 2015) *

Bernard Whiteman Bernard "Ben" Denzil Whiteman (born 20 August 1954) is a Curaçaoan politician who served as the 5th Prime Minister of Curaçao from September 2015 to December 2016. He succeeded Ivar Asjes after Asjes resigned after he lost the confidence of his ...

, Prime Minister of Curaçao (31 August 2015 – 25 February 2016) *

Michiel Godfried Eman Michiel Godfried "Mike" Eman (born September 1, 1961) is an Aruban politician who served as the 3rd Prime Minister of Aruba from 2009 to 2017. His political career began in 2001, but Eman has been involved in politics in one way or another since ...

, Prime Minister of Aruba (25 February 2016 – 23 February 2017) *

Sharlene Cartwright Robinson Sharlene Linette Cartwright-Robinson JP (born 4 September 1971) is a Turks and Caicos Islander politician and lawyer who served as the 4th Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands from 20 December 2016 to 20 February 2021. She was the territory' ...

, Premier of the

Turks and Caicos Islands The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and n ...

(23 February 2017 – 22 February 2018) *

Édouard Fritch Winfred Édouard Tereori Fritch (born 4 January 1952) is a French politician who has served as President of French Polynesia since 2014. He previously presided over the Assembly of French Polynesia on three occasions: from April 2007 to February ...

, President of French Polynesia (22 February 2018 – 27 February 2019) *

Eugene Rhuggenaath From the 29th of May 2017 until the 14th of June 2021, Eugene Rhuggenaath (born 4 February 1970) was the Curaçaoan 7tPrime ministerbefore Gilmar Pisas won the 2021 elections. He previously served as Minister for Economic Development in the Koei ...

, Prime Minister of Curaçao (27 February 2019 – 8 December 2020) *

Thierry Santa Thierry Santa (born 29 August 1967) is a French politician in New Caledonia who served the 9th President of the Government of New Caledonia, elected by the cabinet on 6 July 2019. He left office on 22 July 2021. Santa is the leader of The Rally ...

, President of

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

(8 December 2020 – 22 July 2021) *

Louis Mapou Louis Mapou (born 14 November 1958 in Yaté) is a French politician who has served as the President of the Government of New Caledonia since 22 July 2021. References

Living people 1958 births New Caledonia politicians Presidents of the ...

, President of

(since 22 July 2021)

OCTA members

The members of OCTA are:

Former members

Political dialogue between EU, OCTA, and EU member states

The forum between OCTs,

and its member states to which OCTs are linked, has been held annually since 2003 alternating between Brussels (Belgium) and an OCT: # September 2002 –

(

) # December 2003 – Brussels (Belgium) # March 2005 – Papeete ( French Polynesia) # December 2005 – Brussels (Belgium) # September 2006 –

Nuuk Nuuk (; da, Nuuk, formerly ) is the capital and largest city of Greenland, a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the country's largest cultural and economic centre. The major cities from other co ...

(

) # November 2007 – Brussels (Belgium) # November 2008 – George Town ( Cayman Islands) # March 2010 – Brussels (Belgium) # March 2011 –

Nouméa Nouméa () is the capital and largest city of the French special collectivity of New Caledonia and is also the largest francophone city in Oceania. It is situated on a peninsula in the south of New Caledonia's main island, Grande Terre, a ...

(

) # January 2012 – Brussels (Belgium) # September 2012 – Ilulissat (Greenland) # December 2013 – Brussels (Belgium) # February 2015 –

Road Town Road Town, located on Tortola, is the capital of the British Virgin Islands. It is situated on the horseshoe-shaped Road Harbour in the centre of the island's south coast. The population was about 15,000 in 2018. The name is derived from the n ...

(

) # February 2016 – Brussels (Belgium) # February 2017 – Oranjestad ( Aruba) # February 2018 – Brussels (Belgium) # February 2019 –

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...

(French Polynesia) # December 2020 – online

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website

Founding document (27 November 2001)
International organisations based in Belgium Organizations established in 2000 Organizations related to the European Union Organisations based in Brussels