BRUSSELS – -Guyana’s ambassador to the European Union (EU) and African, Caribbean & Pacific (ACP) Group of States, Dr Patrick Gomes, has been invited to assume chairmanship from July 1 of the European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM),.
The Centre is a widely-recognised, independent think-tank based in Maastricht, the Netherlands, and is currently pre[paring to celebrate its 25th Anniversary which takes place this month end.
It was established by an endowment grant from the Dutch government as a gift to the ACP Group with a view to conducting studies and programmes analysing development cooperation policies world-wide; as well as to undertake the role of an  “honest broker and catalyst to deepen ACP-EU relations in ways that facilitate poverty eradication and sustainable development….”.
The Centre has played a significant role in formulation and assessment of the Joint Africa-EU Strategic Partnership (JAES) through its work with the African Union and now African Union Commission, having seen three Joint Africa-EU Summits and extensive policy studies for an African Peace and Security Facility’ the Governance Peer Review System and Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP).
The invitation to the Guyanese ambassador to assume the chairmanship of the Centre is viewed in part as a recognition of his capacity to help advance the objectives of the Centre .A former UWI lecturer and regional management consultant, Dr Gomes is author of publications that include “Rural Devlopment in the Caribbean”
A major impetus to ECDPM’s collaboration with the Caribbean was made by the MOU signed between the Institute of International Relations (IIR) at UWI, St Augustine, and the ECDPM in October 2009.
This was recently followed up by a seminar at the IIR last month (on April 15) for “reflections” on the draft Joint Caribbean/EU Strategy (JCEUS) now being prepared by consultations involving political leaders, Brussels-based ambassadors, academics, and civil society  representatives.