LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT-ELECT FROM ACP-EU JOINT

UNCLAS USEU BRUSSELS 001958 SIPDIS FOR S/ES-CR NATALIE CHAGNON, S/ES-O, EUR/ERA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: OPDC OVIP PREL EU SUBJECT: LETTER TO THE PRESIDENT-ELECT FROM ACP-EU JOINT PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY REF: STATE 118192 ¶1. Mission is transmitting the following letter to President-elect Obama: Begin Text: Dear President-elect: The ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly brings together 156 parliamentarians from the countries of Africa, the Caribbean, the Pacific and Europe. It is the parliamentary arm of the ACP-EC Cotonou Partnership Agreement, through which the signatory states work together towards poverty reduction, development of ACP states and their gradual integration into the world economy. At our recent plenary session in Papua New Guinea, a number of Members from EU and ACP countries expressed satisfaction at your election and looked forward to a new era of international cooperation, a shift of emphasis back to combating poverty and genuine commitments to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. We believe that if you were to attend a session of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly it would offer you a unique opportunity to engage with the developing world and appreciate more comprehensively their concerns. I would therefore like to invite you, on behalf of Assembly Co-President Wilkie Rasmussen, Deputy Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, and myself, to take part in a forthcoming meeting of the Assembly. The next two sessions take place in the Czech Republic in April or in Angola in November. We would be delighted if you would agree to address our Assembly and remain at your disposal for all further information. We wish you all the best with your imminent presidency. Yours sincerely, Glenys Kinnock Co-President On behalf of the Co-Presidency End text. .