SLYOU Magazine Issue 1 | Page 11

CARIFORUM refers to the body comprising Caribbean ACP States which are signatories of the Georgetown Agreement which was signed in 1975, thereby creating the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP). The grouping comprises 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific states. All participating states in CARIFORUM, with the exception of Cuba, are signatories to the ACP-EU Partnership Agreement or “Cotonou Agreement” and the EPA, respectively. The Caribbean Forum of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (CARIFORUM) or Forum of Caribbean States are Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. Marie said the meeting’s “extensive agenda” yielded a wide range of tangible benefits for the region, including the signature of an accompanying MoU on the CARIFORUM-EU EPA. Other matters discussed include: www.slyoumag.com | July-August 2019 • The African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP)/European Union Post- Cotonou negotiations. The current Cotonou agreement expires in 2020 and parties are required to negotiate a successor arrangement with the EU. SL-YOU | Business, People & Lifestyle 9