About ACPLGP

The Cotonou Partnership Agreement signed in June 2000 between 77 ACP countries and the EU recognized explicitly Local Governments as a distinct actor in development cooperation alongside other actors such as the central government, non state actors, the private sector, etc. who are entitled to participate in the ACP-EC cooperation. Yet a very few Local Government knows about this new Agreement which offers opportunity for them to be involved in key processes of the ACP-EC cooperation (policy dialogue, programming, implementation and review) at both national and regional levels, as well as opportunities for capacity building and access to fund.

This website is intended to give Local Government useful information and networking services that will make them aware of these various opportunities. In turn this will allow them to become a credible partner for development.

Together with you, we wish to enhance the range and scope of Local Government on Cotonou-related issues so that it appeals to a wider audience, and offers access to a broad range of information for every local government association concerned with local development in the context of the Cotonou Agreement.

The ACPLGP website is a platform for information exchange open to every Local Government across the ACP countries. The members of this Platform will be able to share their experience and draw from the knowledge of others for more effective local development practice on the ground. Those who want to become members are invited to use the ‘registration’ section.

This website includes information about the ACPLGP, ACP and EU institutions, sharing experiences/good practice scheme, upcoming events, newsletters, library and useful links to relevant resources. Readers can sign up to receive regular email newsletter.

The website also includes interactive features so that readers can provide feedback and contribute their knowledge and share experiences. Also through the website, readers can participate in EC public consultations where available.

In future we intend to go deeper into exchanging information, through an e-forum allowing peer to peer communication as well as to develop systematic exchange of experiences on best practices on decentralisation and local governance in the framework of the Cotonou Agreement. But to do so we need to learn about your experience. So please feel free to use the ‘Contact us’ section of the website to share your thoughts, to comment on articles, to suggest relevant links, publications or events, or to submit your own contribution.

This website is yours and together we can ensure that Local Government is fully integrated as a key actor in the ACP-EC cooperation for a more effective fight against poverty. We look forward to hearing from you.