On Thursday evening, at a ceremony in Brussels, chief negotiators EU Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen and Togo's Foreign Minister Robert Dussey initialled the new Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS). This marks the formal conclusion of the three-year negotiations of the Post-Cotonou Agreement, setting the political, economic and sectorial cooperation framework for the next twenty years.

The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission, Josep Borrell, spoke with the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken on Tuesday. It happened just 20 days after their previous meeting in Brussels.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return to Brussels this week for discussions on Russian military build-up at the Ukraine border as well as on Iran and Afghanistan, news wires reported. He will join Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. The date of the additional trip was not released.

After their meeting in Ankara on Tuesday with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the future of EU-Turkey relations, EUCO President Charles Michel and EC President Ursula von der Leyen said that recent de-escalation must be sustained and enhanced.

On Tuesday, EUCO President Charles Michel and EC President Ursula von der Leyen are paying a visit to Ankara where they will meet with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. They will attend as well a roundtable with representatives from IOM, UNHCR, UNICEF and UN Women.

During his visit to Libya, European Council President Charles Michel met on Sunday with President of the Presidential Council Mohamed Yunus al-Mnefi, and later on he exchanged views with Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Mohammed Al-Dabaiba and with Minister for Foreign Affairs Najla Mangoush.

The leaders of Germany, France and Russia held a conference call on Tuesday to discuss the potential registration of the Russian Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine, news wires reported. The Kremlin said after the call that the three leaders had talked about shipment and joint-production of the Russian-developed jab, pending authorisation from the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

During the second day of the fifth Brussels Conference dedicated to 'Supporting the future of Syria and the Region', co-chaired by the EU and the UN, the international community pledged €5.3bn for Syria and the neighbouring countries hosting Syrian refugees.

The presidents of the European Council and the European Commission will visit Turkey and meet Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on 6 April, an EU spokesman said on Monday, in the latest sign of improving ties, Reuters reported.

The fifth edition of the Brussels Conference on ‘Supporting the Future of Syria and the Region’ started on Monday with the Day of Dialogue with civil society organisations from Syria and the region.