Annexe III. Institutional support, CDE and CTA
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Cooperation shall support the institutional mechanisms that provide assistance for businesses and enterprises and promote agriculture and rural development. In this context, cooperation shall help to:
a) strengthen and enhance the role of the Centre for the Development of Enterprise (CDE) so as to provide the ACP private sector with the necessary support in the promotion of private sector development activities; and
b) strengthen and reinforce the role of the Centre for the Development of Agriculture (CTA) in ACP institutional capacity development, particularly information management, in order to improve access to technologies for increasing agricultural productivity, commercialisation, food security and rural development.
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The CDE shall support the implementation of private-sector development strategies in the ACP countries by providing non-financial services to ACP companies and businesses and support to joint initiatives set up by economic operators of the Community and of the ACP States.
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The CDE shall aim to assist private ACP enterprises to become more competitive in all sectors of the economy. It shall in particular:
a) facilitate and promote business cooperation and partnerships between ACP and EU enterprises;
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b) assist with the development of business support services through support for capacity building in private sector owned organisations or support for providers of technical, professional, management, commercial and training support services;
c) provide assistance for investment promotion activities, such as investment promotion organisations, organisation of investment conferences, training programmes, strategy workshops and follow-up investment promotion missions; and
c) support for initiatives that contribute to develop and transfer technologies and know-how and best practices on all aspects of business management.
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The CDE shall also:
a) inform the ACP private sector about the provisions of the Agreement;
b) diffuse information within the local ACP private sector about the product quality and standards required in external markets; and
c) provide information to European companies and private sector organisations on business opportunities and modalities in ACP countries.
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The CDE shall extend its support for enterprises through qualified and competent national and/or regional service-providing intermediaries.
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The activities of the CDE shall be based on the concept of coordination, complementarity and added value in respect of any private sector development initiatives taken by public or private entities. The CDE shall exercise selectivity in undertaking its tasks.
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The Committee of Ambassadors shall be the supervisory authority of the Centre. It shall, after the signature of this Agreement:
a) lay down the statutes and rules of procedure of the Centre, including its supervisory bodies;
b) lay down the statutes relating to staff, financial and staff regulations;
c) supervise the work of the bodies of the Centre; and
d) lay down the rules of operation and the procedures for the adoption of the Centre's budget.
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The Committee of Ambassadors shall, in accordance with the procedures and criteria determined by it, appoint the members of the bodies of the Centre.
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The budget of the Centre shall be financed in accordance with the rules laid down in this Agreement in respect of development finance cooperation.
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The mission of the CTA shall be to strengthen policy and institutional capacity development and information and communication management capacities of ACP agricultural and rural development organisations. It shall assist such organisations in formulating and implementing policies and programmes to reduce poverty, promote sustainable food security, preserve the natural resource base, and thus contribute to building self-reliance in ACP rural and agricultural development.
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The CTA shall:
a) develop and provide information services and ensure better access to research, training and innovations in the spheres of agricultural and rural development and extension, in order to promote agriculture and rural development; and
b) develop and reinforce ACP capacities in order to:
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i) improve the formulation and management of agricultural and rural development policies and strategies at national and regional levels including improved capacity for data collection, policy research, analysis and formulation;
ii) improve the information and communication management, in particular within the National Agricultural Strategy;
iii) promote effective intra-institutional Information and Communication Management (ICM) for performance monitoring, as well as consortia with regional and international partners;
iv) promote decentralised ICM at local and national levels;
v) strengthen initiatives via regional cooperation; and
vi) develop approaches for assessing the impact of policy on agricultural and rural development.
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The Centre shall support regional initiatives and networks and shall progressively share capacity development programmes with appropriate ACP organisations. To this end, the Centre shall support decentralised regional information networks. Such networks shall be built up gradually and efficiently.
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The Committee of Ambassadors shall be the supervisory authority of the Centre. It shall, after the signature of this Agreement:
a) lay down the statutes and rules of procedures of the Centre, including its supervisory bodies;
b) lay down the statutes relating to staff, financial and staff regulations;
c) supervise the work of the bodies of the Centre; and
d) lay down the rules of operation and the procedures for the adoption of the Centre's budget.
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The Committee of Ambassadors shall, in accordance with the procedures and criteria determined by it, appoint the members of the bodies of the Centre.
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The budget of the Centre shall be financed in accordance with the rules laid down in this Agreement in respect of development finance cooperation.
