Collaboration with the Secretariat of the African Caribbean and Pacific Group of States

29 November 2018, Brussels - Delegates from the IPPC Secretariat met with Mr Viwanou Gnassounou, Assistant Secretary-General of the Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP), to discuss potential cooperation between both Secretariats. This was the first time that such a collaboration was officially discussed.

During the meeting, Mr Jingyuan Xia, IPPC secretary, expressed the IPPC s strong interest in cooperating with the ACP Secretariat in particular in building phytosanitary capacity at the national level; celebrating the International Year of Plant Health (IYPH) in 2020; and combatting emerging regulated pests.

Mr Xia briefed Mr Gnassounou on the mission, governance, network, and role of the IPPC. He also talked about the IPPC Secretariat s organizational structure, staffing, and core activities focusing on strategic guidance, standards setting, capacity development, trade facilitation, communication and advocacy, and international cooperation.

After welcoming the IPPC Delegates to the ACP Secretariat, Mr Gnassounou stressed the importance of phytosanitary standards as a key requirement for allowing ACP countries to export to other regions (such as the European Union); and for improving ACP countries trade capacity. He fully agreed with Mr Xia s proposal on potential areas for cooperation between the two Secretariats.

Mr Gnassounou and his colleagues accepted the invitation to attend the 2019 Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (CPM-14) session in Rome to discuss their bilateral cooperation in more detail.

The IPPC delegation consisted of Mr Jingyuan Xia (IPPC Secretary), Mr Marko Benovic (Budget and Planning Officer) and Mr Tommaso Teti (Project Management Associate). The IPPC Delegation was accompanied by colleagues from FAO s Liaison Office with the European Union and Belgium (FAOLOB), notably: Ms Zoé Druilhe (Liaison Officer FAOLOB) and Ms Federica Vaghetti (Consultant FAOLOB).

The African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) is an organization created in 1975 and composed of 79 ACP states. All ACP states except for Cuba are signatories to the Cotonou Agreement, also known as the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement which binds them to the European Union. The ACP Secretariat is based in Brussels and responsible for the administrative management of the ACP Group. It assists the Group''s decision-making and advisory organs in carrying out their work.