On 14 and 15 November 2023, the Ambassador-at-Large and Head of the United Nations Security Council Task Force, Andrejs Pildegovičs, represented Latvia at the European Union (EU) and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) Council of Ministers and the signing ceremony of the Samoa Agreement in Apia, the capital of Samoa.
Addressing the Council of Ministers on behalf of the Baltic states, Ambassador Andrejs Pildegovičs recalled Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, the escalation of the crisis in the Middle East and stressed the need for closer cooperation between the EU and the African, Caribbean and Pacific States, defending the sovereign equality and territorial integrity of states. Those are also principles that are included in the United Nations Charter. Andrejs Pildegovičs also highlighted the disproportionate impact of climate change on small island developing states and noted that Latvia has been involved in international litigation addressing national climate change obligations.
During his visit, Andrejs Pildegovičs met with the Prime Minister of Samoa, Fiame Naomi Mata’afa, to discuss bilateral cooperation and cooperation in international organisations, with a particular focus on climate change. Andrejs Pildegovičs also met with the Heads of Delegation of Fiji, Timor-Leste, Vanuatu, Kiribati and Micronesia.
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The new EU-Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (OACPS) Partnership Agreement replaces the Cotonou Agreement and will be known as the Samoa Agreement. It will serve as the comprehensive legal framework between the EU and the OACPS for the next twenty years. The topics covered by the Samoa Agreement are sustainable development and growth, human rights, peace and security.
The signing ceremony was also attended by Counsellor, Deputy Head of the Mission to Australia, Ieva Apine. The Embassy of Latvia to Australia is responsible for developing Latvia’s contacts and facilitating the implementation of this agreement with the countries of the Pacific.