Fiji has received 23 million euros ($F56,973,543) from the European Commission out of the promised 44.4 million euros ($F109,983,710) to aid in the reform and long-term sustainability plans for the sugarcane industry. According to the Fiji Sugar Corporation's 2017 Annual Report, the 44.4m euros was to aid in Fiji's reform and restructure programs, allowing Fiji to become more sustainable and competitive in the international market. "The last major reform of the EU sugar sector in 2006, the advent of the Economic Partnership Agreements in 2008 and the denunciation of the ACP-EU Sugar Protocol represented some of the major challenges that Fiji, along with other ACP small and vulnerable communities, had to grapple with," the FSC said in its report.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, this morning announced the appointment of Ambassador Sheila Sealy Monteith as Jamaica's Ambassador to Belgium and Permanent Representative to the European Union and UNESCO. Ambassador Sealy Monteith will also serve as non-resident Ambassador to other European countries, according to a release from the ministry. The career diplomat of 31 years is currently Under-Secretary for Multilateral Affairs in the ministry. She previously served as Ambassador to Mexico with concurrent accreditation to Central America and as High Commissioner to Belize from 2005 to 2010. Thereafter, she was appointed High Commissioner to Canada, from 2010 to 2014.
President Juncker will lead the European Commission delegation at the 5th African Union - European Union Summit (link is external) starting on 29 November in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. The President will be joined by High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the Commission Federica Mogherini and Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development Neven Mimica. The EU is Africa's main partner, and the summit will be an opportunity for both sides to scale up their partnership.
A workshop recently hosted by the Embassy of Italy in South Africa, in collaboration with the European Union Delegation in South Africa, Wesgro and the Department of Trade and Industry hosted a workshop on the Protection and Promotion of Geographical Indications (GI) aimed to create awareness on the benefits that can be derived from the effective protection and use of GIs in South African and EU for the development of small-scale, local and rural economies, particularly in the agro-food sector, and for enhancing export opportunities and boosting international trade flows.
The European Commission has defined concrete areas of investments for its External Investment Plan. The new plan will mobilise €44 billion of sustainable investment for Africa and the EU Neighbourhood countries. The European Commission singles out five areas of investment, so-called "investment windows", in which the first actions of the External Investment Plan (EIP) will be implemented. These investment areas are crucial for the sustainable development in countries in Africa and the EU Neighbourhood countries.