Kenya officially hands over OACPS presidency to Angola

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Friday officially handed over the presidency of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) to Angola.

Acting on behalf of President William Ruto, Gachagua handed the office over to Angolan President João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço during the opening of the 10th Summit of the OACPS in Luanda.

Kenya has held the position since 2019 when the 79-member organisation held its 9th Summit in Nairobi.

The Angolan Summit marks the first physical meeting since the Covid-19 pandemic.

The DP had earlier held bilateral talks with President Lourenço on issues of mutual interest with the aim to deepen cooperation between the two countries.

In his address, Gachagua lauded the OACPS for creating a diaspora engagement platform for its respective citizens.

"We welcome the creation of the OACPS Trade Platform for Engagement with the global diaspora initiatives as well as at the Nation-State level. Thank you, Sec Gen, for taking the necessary steps to establish OACPS global diaspora engagement mechanisms as a strategy which will be key beyond the current challenges," he said.

Emphasizing the need for a structured way of discussion under the Diaspora Trade Platform for Engagement, Gachagua said the community has contributed immensely to development.

The platform launched on December 7, 2022,  will facilitate inter-regional and international cooperation on policies and good practices on diaspora engagement for the mutual benefit of the member states.

It will also allow for the strengthening of the triangular cooperation programmes for peer learning between, and among the members besides facilitating global consultations on social, economic, and cultural fields.

Ruto's administration considers diaspora matters as key to the economy and has for the first time created a fully-fledged State Department on Diaspora Affairs under the Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs.

The community has since increased inflows of remittances to the country over the last 15 years.

In 2021, it sent back home US $3,718 million (Sh456,681,94) which contributed about three per cent to the national gross domestic product.

Gachagua further said the industrialised and developing countries under the OACPS have a common goal of deepening mutual partnership in tackling issues including violent conflicts especially in Africa, global warming and climate change, economic downturns resulting from COVID-19 and other factors.

"The theme of the 10th Summit, “3 Continents, 3 Oceans, 1 Common Destiny: Building a resilient and sustainable OACPS” is a great breather by member states towards resilience and economic diversification to attain economic independence," he said.

He identified COVID-19 and the Ukraine-Russia war as some of the global challenges which have amplified poverty levels, inequality gaps and debt burden, particularly among the lower middle-income countries which require adequate fiscal space.