72 heads of state and government will meet in Santo Domingo in mid-November for the Summit of ACP countries signatories of the Lome IV agreement. The meeting of the Cariforum will be held to set the final stand of the Asian, Caribbean and Pacific signatories of the agreement in view of the completing of the protocol of the post Lome IV Agreement. Lome IV expires in 2000. This will be the second major summit held in Santo Domingo this year. Last weekend, the city was host to 24 heads of state that came for the II Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Association of Caribbean States. Lomé IV is an agreement signed in 1989 between 15 European Union States and 69 ACP States (Africa, Caribbean and Pacific). This non-reciprocal financial and technical cooperation agreement provides emergency assistance and a preferential trade system that benefits independent states in Africa, Caribbean and the Pacific that were former colonies of Europe. The accord seeks to promote and accelerate economic, cultural and social development in the ACP countries via several methods of collaboration and the elimination of taxes and quantitative limitations for a number of products entering the EU countries.
