Strasbourg, France – A-six man delegation from the Sierra Leone House of Parliament have arrived in Strasbourg ahead of the OACPS/ ACP Assemblies.
The delegation led by the Leader of Government Business in the Sierra Leone Parliament, Hon. Mathew Sahr Nyuma arrived in Strasbourg, France today, 27th March ahead of the 60th Session of the Organization of the Africa Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) Parliamentary Assembly and the 41st Session of the ACP/EU joint Parliamentary Assembly expected to run from 29th March to 4th April 2022.
The delegation also includes; Hon. Ibrahim Ben Kargbo, Hon. Dickson Rogers, Hon. Saa Emerson Lamina, Hon. Aaron Koroma and Hon. Paran Umar Tarawally.
These meetings will be the first in-person-sessions Assemblies of the OACPS and the ACP/EU since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
During the OACPS sessions, Parliamentarians are expected to exchange views on current global issues of interest. A special session is also planned to brief Parliamentarians on the new OACPS-EU Partnership Agreement.
The formal opening of the 41st Session of the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) takes place on Friday, 1st April 2022 and a Special Parliamentary Celebration is also included in the agenda to mark 20 years of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement and the future of the OACPS-EU Parliamentary Cooperation. They are also expected to look at the Rules of Procedure of the OACPS-EU Parliament-a Standing Order that regulates that binds proceedings during Parliamentary Sessions.
Leader of the Sierra Leone delegation, Hon. Nyuma said they are happy to be present at the first in-person-session of the OACPS-EU following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and hoped for fruitful deliberations that will attempt to address some of the critical social, economic, political and environmental challenges facing the member states of the Cooperation.
He said after two years of the pandemic they are meeting for the first time in-person to discuss issues that have affected different countries.
“We used to be part of the assemblies meetings, but they were virtual and these were married by lots of challenges ranging from poor internet connectivity and differences in time,” Hon Nyuma pointed out, noting further that those issues affected the voting pattern on certain decision.
During the Strasbourg meeting, the Parliamentarians will look into various issues including the effect of the pandemic on the global stage, and African delegates are expected to share their experiences as to how they were able to mitigate those effects.
They are also expected to share experiences from the parliamentary perspective; what the various Parliaments did in terms of legislations as mitigates in ameliorating the pandemic in their respective countries.
“It is vital to meet in person,” Hon. Nyuma stated, stressing, “We have to talk about the post Cotonou Agreement in broader perspectives since that was not broadly possible during our virtual meetings, and that made reaching a consensus very difficult,” Hon. Sahr Mathew Nyuma posited.
While emphasizing that a direct in-person meeting of this nature will give every member a clear insight into the post Cotonou Agreement so as to enable “positive contributions on possible amends as we look forward into the future, and I foresee exhaustive deliberations which will require lots of attention,” Hon. Nyuma concluded.
