As the time when the date that marks 3 decades of implementation of the PALOP-TL Cooperation Program with the European Union is approaching, CESO started, last March, the Technical Assistance (TA) to the PALOP-TL Program Coordination / EU, with funding from the European Commission.

In order to contribute to an efficient coordination of the referred Program, the TA will support the operationalization of technological resources that will allow, on the one hand, to facilitate the participation in the decision-making process and, on the other hand, to ensure knowledge sharing. In this sense and concerning the tools created previously, a prior diagnosis will be made, namely of the SIRP Platform - PALOP-TL / UE Regional Information System -, of the website and of the videoconference system, so that it can be fully operationalized.

It will also promote cooperation and communication between the countries involved in the Program, through the strengthening of the regional cooperation network and by the provision of technical and administrative support to the Program Coordination, in particular to the Office of the Regional Authorizing Officer of the Program which is based in Mozambique.

In this context, activities to support meetings held by National Authorizing Officers and between them and the European Union, will be implemented by supporting the secretariat coordination, in order to guarantee the success of these meetings, whether they take place in person or through the videoconference system. The effective operationalization of the cooperation network will establish and enhance a productive dialogue about ongoing projects, their articulation and obtaining synergies with other projects.

At the same time, the TA will proceed to the identification and formulation of the areas of action for the sectors selected in the programming cycle planned for 2021-2027. Thus, strategic partnerships will be fostered in future areas of cooperation that, during the next programming phase, may be translated into an added value for the PALOP-TL / EU Program and which should subsequently be poured into specific projects or activities. Public policy dialogues will also be promoted, not only between the European Union and the PALOP-TL, but also with other entities outside the PALOP-TL Program, such as other donors, stakeholders, regional organizations, namely with the CPLP, SADC and ECOWAS.

The TA Coordination of the PALOP-TL Program is financed by the European Commission; CESO will be responsible for its implementation in the next two years.

May 2021