State Secretary Raščan at the development cooperation handover of the EU Council Presidency to Portugal

11. 1. 2021

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Permanent Representation to the European Union Brussels
Permanent Mission of the Republic of Slovenia to the UN Office and other international organizations in Geneva
Embassy of the Republic of Slovenia in Portugal based in Ljubljana

State Secretary Stanislav Raščan took part in a handover workshop of the trio Presidency of the EU Foreign Affairs Council attended by development cooperation ministers. The workshop took place in the form of an audio-video conference with the Portuguese Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Francisco André, and the German State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Martin Jäger.

at the audio-video conference — State Secretary Stanislav Raščan | Author Ministrstvo za zunanje zadeve

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The first item on their agenda was a review of the achievements of the German Presidency in the field of development cooperation and humanitarian aid, followed by the work programme of the current Portuguese Presidency.

They went on to exchange views on the state of play of negotiations on a new agreement between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries (Post-Cotonou Agreement), the proposal for a regulation establishing the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument (NDICI), and the future EU financial architecture for development.

The discussion also touched on debt relief, especially for African countries, which had been facing a heavy debt burden even before the COVID-19 pandemic, and on the EU-Africa Partnership, which is one of the key Trio Presidency priorities.