Kenyan President Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, who is also the President-in-Office of the Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), will, in the course of a three-day Presidential mission to Brussels, visit the Secretariat of the OACPS to meet with Secretary-General, Georges Rebelo Pinto Chikoti, and the OACPS Committee of Ambassadors on 22 June 2021.
During his bilateral meeting with Secretary-General Chikoti, the President is expected to discuss the ongoing organisational restructuring at the OACPS Secretariat, the role of the OACPS on the international scene, the implementation of the recently initialled Post-Cotonou Agreement and OACPS interventions to ensure access by Members States to COVID-19 vaccines.
In June 2020, President Kenyatta convened the first Extraordinary Inter-Sessional Summit of OACPS Heads of State and Government, themed “Transcending the COVID-19 Pandemic: Building Resilience through Global Solidarity”, to assess the global situation of COVID-19, in particular, the effects and consequences to the OACPS members, to identify opportunities for global solidarity and action.
Many of the Members of the OACPS have suffered negative socio-economic impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic as a result of vulnerable health systems and the disruption of key industries such as tourism. Timely access to vaccines is imperative to assist these States to build back following COVID-19.
President Kenyatta assumed the Presidency of the OACPS following the hosting of the 9th Summit of OACPS Heads of State and Government in Nairobi, Kenya in December 2019.
The Kenyan President’s term as President of the Summit will come to an end in 2022 when Angola is expected to host the next Summit.
SOURCE: OACPS/PACNEWS
