Timor-Leste and African, Caribbean and Pacific States Sign New Partnership Agreement with the European Union
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Bendito dos Santos Freitas, chaired the special session of the meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) on November 14th, 2023, in Apia, Samoa. The following day, he co-chaired the 46th meeting of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers, together with Pilar Cancela Rodríguez, Secretary of State for International Cooperation of the Kingdom of Spain, representing the European Union (EU). 
OACPS is a multilateral organisation comprising 79 countries from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific cooperating with the European Union (EU).
The 46th meeting of the ACP-EU Council of Ministers was marked by the signing of the Samoa Agreement, replacing the Cotonou Agreement signed in July 2022 between the EU and the 79 OACPS countries. The new agreement paves the way for human development and progress in the fight against climate change to achieve peace, security and good governance over the next 20 years. 
The new Partnership Agreement establishes common principles and covers priority areas such as human rights, democracy and governance, peace and security, human and social development, sustainable and inclusive economic development and growth, environmental sustainability and climate change, migration and mobility.
The agreement includes a common basis that applies to all parties, combined with three regional protocols for Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, adjusted to the specific needs of each region. 
The 79 countries of Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific, and the 27 EU member states represent more than 1.5 billion people and more than half of the seats in the United Nations. With this new Agreement, the parties are better prepared to respond to emerging needs and global challenges such as climate change, ocean governance, migration, health, peace and security.
The provisional application of the Agreement will begin on January 1st, 2024. The Agreement will enter into force after approval by the European Parliament and ratification by the Parties, i.e. all EU Member States and at least two-thirds of OACPS members.
The national delegation, led by Minister Bendito Freitas, included Timor-Leste's Ambassador in Brussels, Jorge Camões, the Focal Point of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation for cooperation between Timor-Leste and the European Union, Aleixo da Cruz, and the Acting Director for Regional Affairs, Atanásia Pires.
