The 11th round of talks between the EU and the ESA 5 (Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and Zimbabwe) was held in hybrid mode from 27th to 31st March 2023 in Zimbabwe. The meeting was followed by an ESA-EU senior official stock taking session on 31 March 2023.
This round at technical level was co-chaired by Mr Thanos Rammos from DG Trade of the European Commission for the EU and Mr Narainduth Boodhoo for the ESA-5.
Negotiations were held on 10 issues namely Trade in Services, Investment Liberalisation and Digital Trade (TiSIL&DT), Intellectual Property Rights including Geographical Indications (IPR/GI), Trade and Sustainable Development, Rules of Origin (ROO), Transparency in Public Procurement, Dispute Settlement & Institutional Provisions, Competition policy, Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), Agriculture, and Fisheries.
Progress was made on several issues including transparency in Public Procurement, Dispute Settlement and Rules of Origin. Constructive discussions were held on issues such as IPR, Trade and Sustainable Development as Parties expressed their positions and underlined their willingness to bridge their differences. Virtual intersessional meetings would be held prior to the next round to pursue discussions on outstanding issues.
The 12th round will be held in June 2023.
Sources : ITD
