The African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) is a group of countries (currently 79: 48 African, 16 Caribbean and 15 Pacific), created by the Georgetown Agreement in 1975. The group's main objectives are sustainable development and poverty reduction within its member states, as well as their greater integration into the world's economy. All of the member states, except Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

 are signatories to the Cotonou Agreement

Cotonou Agreement

The Cotonou Agreement is a treaty between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States . It was signed in June 2000 in Cotonou, the largest city in Benin, by 78 ACP countries and the then fifteen Member States of the European Union...

 with the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

.

The Cotonou Agreement

Cotonou Agreement

The Cotonou Agreement is a treaty between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States . It was signed in June 2000 in Cotonou, the largest city in Benin, by 78 ACP countries and the then fifteen Member States of the European Union...

 (signed in Cotonou

Cotonou

-Demographics:*1979: 320,348 *1992: 536,827 *2002: 665,100 *2005: 690,584 The main languages spoken in Cotonou include the Fon language, Aja language, Yoruba language and French.-Transport:...

, Benin

Benin

Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...

 in June 2000) is the successor to the Lomé Convention

Lomé Convention

The Lomé Convention is a trade and aid agreement between the European Community and 71 African, Caribbean, and Pacific countries, first signed in February 1975 in Lomé, Togo.- History :...

s. One of the major differences from the Lomé Convention is that the partnership is extended to new actors such as civil society, private sector, trade unions and local authorities. These will be involved in consultations and planning of national development strategies, provided with access to financial resources and involved in the implementation of programmes.

Many small island developing states are ACP states; the fourth Lomé Convention was revised in 1995 in Mauritius

Mauritius

Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...

 and gives special attention to island countries in this agreement.

Africa

The African ACP countries negotiate in five EPA

Economic Partnership Agreements

Economic Partnership Agreements are a scheme to create a free trade area between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States . They are a response to continuing criticism that the non-reciprocal and discriminating preferential trade agreements offered by the EU are...

 groups (West Africa, CEMAC, SADC, EAC

East African Community

The East African Community is an intergovernmental organisation comprising the five east African countries Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. Pierre Nkurunziza, the President of the Republic of Burundi, is the current Chairman of the East African Community. The EAC was originally...

, Eastern and Southern Africa) with the EU

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

. The related EU OCTs are: Mayotte

Mayotte

Mayotte is an overseas department and region of France consisting of a main island, Grande-Terre , a smaller island, Petite-Terre , and several islets around these two. The archipelago is located in the northern Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean, namely between northwestern Madagascar and...

 (for ESA) and the related EU outermost region

Outermost region

An outermost region is a region which is part of a European Union Member State, is situated outside of Europe and is fully part of the EU. There are nine of them: six French, two Portuguese and one Spanish.-External link:*...

s are: Réunion

Réunion

Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...

 (for ESA), Canary Islands

Canary Islands

The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...

 (for West Africa), Madeira

Madeira

Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...

 (for West Africa), Azores

Azores

The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...

 (for West Africa).

SADC group EAC East African Community The East African Community is an intergovernmental organisation comprising the five east African countries Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. Pierre Nkurunziza, the President of the Republic of Burundi, is the current Chairman of the East African Community. The EAC was originally...  group "Eastern and Southern Africa group" (COMESA related), not participating in EPA

"CEMAC plus São Tomé and Príncipe, DR Congo group" (ECCAS related) "West Africa group" (ECOWAS plus Mauritania)

Caribbean

, not participating in EPA

All countries of the Caribbean Community

Caribbean Community

The Caribbean Community is an organisation of 15 Caribbean nations and dependencies. CARICOM's main purposes are to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, to ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and to coordinate foreign policy...

 plus Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...

 group negotiate in the CARIFORUM

CARIFORUM

The Caribbean Forum is a subgroup of ACP States and serves as a base for economic dialogue with the European Union. It was established in 1992. Its membership comprises the 15 Caribbean Community states, along with the Dominican Republic...

 EPA

Economic Partnership Agreements

Economic Partnership Agreements are a scheme to create a free trade area between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States . They are a response to continuing criticism that the non-reciprocal and discriminating preferential trade agreements offered by the EU are...

 with the EU

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

. The related EU OCTs are: Aruba

Aruba

Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...

, Bermuda

Bermuda

Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...

, British Virgin Islands

British Virgin Islands

The Virgin Islands, often called the British Virgin Islands , is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union, located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up part of the Virgin Islands archipelago, the remaining islands constituting the U.S...

, Netherlands Antilles

Netherlands Antilles

The Netherlands Antilles , also referred to informally as the Dutch Antilles, was an autonomous Caribbean country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, consisting of two groups of islands in the Lesser Antilles: Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao , in Leeward Antilles just off the Venezuelan coast; and Sint...

, Anguilla

Anguilla

Anguilla is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin...

, Cayman Islands

Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands is a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union located in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman, located south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica...

, Turks and Caicos Islands

Turks and Caicos Islands

The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union consisting of two groups of tropical islands in the Caribbean, the larger Caicos Islands and the smaller Turks Islands, known for tourism and as an offshore financial centre.The Turks and...

, Montserrat

Montserrat

Montserrat is a British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies. This island measures approximately long and wide, giving of coastline...

 and the related EU outermost region

Outermost region

An outermost region is a region which is part of a European Union Member State, is situated outside of Europe and is fully part of the EU. There are nine of them: six French, two Portuguese and one Spanish.-External link:*...

s are Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe

Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...

, Martinique

Martinique

Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...

, French Guiana

French Guiana

French Guiana is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department located on the northern Atlantic coast of South America. It has borders with two nations, Brazil to the east and south, and Suriname to the west...

, Saint Martin

Saint Martin

Saint Martin is an island in the northeast Caribbean, approximately east of Puerto Rico. The 87 km2 island is divided roughly 60/40 between France and the Kingdom of the Netherlands ; however, the Dutch side has the larger population. It is one of the smallest sea islands divided between...

, Saint Barthélemy

Saint Barthélemy

Saint Barthélemy , officially the Territorial collectivity of Saint Barthélemy , is an overseas collectivity of France. Often abbreviated to Saint-Barth in French, or St. Barts in English, the indigenous people called the island Ouanalao...

.

Pacific

, not participating in EPA

All countries of the Pacific Islands Forum

Pacific Islands Forum

The Pacific Islands Forum is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation between the independent countries of the Pacific Ocean. It was founded in 1971 as the South Pacific Forum...

 group negotiate in the Pacific EPA

Economic Partnership Agreements

Economic Partnership Agreements are a scheme to create a free trade area between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States . They are a response to continuing criticism that the non-reciprocal and discriminating preferential trade agreements offered by the EU are...

 with the EU

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

. The related EU OCTs are: New Caledonia

New Caledonia

New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...

, Wallis and Futuna

Wallis and Futuna

Wallis and Futuna, officially the Territory of the Wallis and Futuna Islands , is a Polynesian French island territory in the South Pacific between Tuvalu to the northwest, Rotuma of Fiji to the west, the main part of Fiji to the southwest, Tonga to the southeast,...

, French Polynesia

French Polynesia

French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...

, Pitcairn islands

Pitcairn Islands

The Pitcairn Islands , officially named the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, form a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. The islands are a British Overseas Territory and overseas territory of the European Union in the Pacific...

.

North Atlantic

In this region are located the EU OCTs of Greenland

Greenland

Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...

 and Saint Pierre and Miquelon, but there are no ACP states.

South Atlantic

In this region are located the EU OCTs of Saint Helena

Saint Helena

Saint Helena , named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha...

 and Falkland Islands

Falkland Islands

The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...

, but there are no ACP states. Nevertheless Saint Helena is developing links with the SADC EPA group.

Uninhabited territories

The uninhabited EU OCTs do not participate in regional integration and do not receive development funding from the EU.

• British Indian Ocean Territory
  British Indian Ocean Territory
  The British Indian Ocean Territory or Chagos Islands is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom situated in the Indian Ocean, halfway between Africa and Indonesia...
  
  , located in the Indian Ocean
• French Southern and Antarctic Territories, located in the Indian Ocean
• South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, located in the South Atlantic, thus in a group with the inhabited OCTs there
• British Antarctic Territory
  British Antarctic Territory
  The British Antarctic Territory is a sector of Antarctica claimed by the United Kingdom as one of its 14 British Overseas Territories. It comprises the region south of 60°S latitude and between longitudes and , forming a wedge shape that extends to the South Pole...
  
  , located near the South Atlantic, thus in a group with the inhabited OCTs there

Least-developed ACP states

• Angola
• Benin
• Burkina Faso
• Burundi
• Republic of Cape Verde
• Central African Republic
• Chad
• Comoro Islands
• Democratic Republic of Congo
• Djibouti
• Equatorial Guinea
• Eritrea
• Ethiopia
• Gambia
• Guinea
• Guinea-Bissau
• Haïti
• Kiribati
• Lesotho
• Liberia
• Madagascar
• Malawi
• Mali
• Mauritania
• Mozambique
• Niger
• Rwanda
• Samoa
• Sâo Tome and Principe
• Sierra Leone
• Solomon Islands
• Somalia
• Sudan
• Tanzania
• Tuvalu
• Togo
• Uganda
• Vanuatu
• Zambia

The Least developed OCTs are the following: Anguilla, Mayotte, Montserrat, Saint Helena, Turks and Caicos Islands, Wallis and Futuna, Saint Pierre and Miquelon.

Landlocked ACP states

• Botswana
• Burkina Faso
• Burundi
• Central African Republic
• Chad
• Ethiopia
• Lesotho
• Malawi
• Mali
• Niger
• Rwanda
• Swaziland
• Uganda
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

Island ACP states

• Antigua and Barbuda
• Bahamas
• Barbados
• Cape Verde
• Comoros
• Dominica
• Dominican Republic
• Fiji
• Grenada
• Haiti
• Jamaica
• Kiribati
• Madagascar
• Mauritius
• Nauru
• Papua New Guinea
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Samoa
• São Tomé and Principe
• Seychelles
• Solomon Islands
• Tonga
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Tuvalu
• Vanuatu

See also

• ACP-EU Development Cooperation
  ACP-EU Development Cooperation
  Development cooperation between the European Union and the countries of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007. Although bilateral relations have always been and still remain one of the main features of modern development cooperation, it was the...
  
  
• EU-ACP Economic Partnership Agreements
  Economic Partnership Agreements
  Economic Partnership Agreements are a scheme to create a free trade area between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States . They are a response to continuing criticism that the non-reciprocal and discriminating preferential trade agreements offered by the EU are...
  
  
• ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
  ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
  The ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly was created to bring together the elected representatives of the European Union and the elected representatives of the African, Caribbean and Pacific states that have signed the Cotonou Agreement.Since the entry into force of the Treaty on European Union...
  
  
• Economic Partnership Agreements
  Economic Partnership Agreements
  Economic Partnership Agreements are a scheme to create a free trade area between the European Union and the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States . They are a response to continuing criticism that the non-reciprocal and discriminating preferential trade agreements offered by the EU are...
  
   (EPA) with the ACP countries
• The Courier (ACP-EU)
  The Courier (ACP-EU)
  The Courier is an ACP-EU development magazine published by the Development Directorate General of the European Commission, focusing on ACP-EU Development Cooperation. Financed by the European Development Fund , it is published every two months...
  
   : The magazine of Africa-Caribbean-Pacific and European Union cooperation and relations
• Everything but Arms
  Everything but Arms
  Everything but Arms is an initiative of the European Union under which all imports to the EU from the Least Developed Countries are duty free and quota free, with the exception of armaments. EBA entered into force on 5 March 2001. There are transitional arrangements for bananas, sugar and rice...
  
  

External links

• Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States
• ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
• ACP-EU cooperation dossier of Euforic
• Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA)
  Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA)
  The Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU was established in 1983 under the Lomé Convention between the ACP countries and EU member states...
  
  
• African Voices: About EC Aid to Africa
• The Courier - The Magazine of Africa, Caribbean, Pacific and European Union cooperation and relations
• Website on EU cooperation for ACP countries