State representatives and political leaders from New Caledonia will meet in September in Paris to discuss the institutional future of the archipelago, the Interior and Overseas Ministry announced on Saturday.
“At the end of the political process defined by the Nouméa agreement, it is first necessary to bring together the committee of signatories, the body overseeing its application. This meeting will be held at the start of the school year next September, in Paris, ”said Place Beauvau in a press release. The committee of signatories, provided for by the Nouméa agreement of 1998, brings together at regular intervals representatives of the State, elected officials and representatives of New Caledonian political forces. The last one took place in October 2019.
First meeting since the referendums
This meeting will be the first after the three referendums on the independence of the Pacific archipelago, in 2018, 2020 and 2021, all won by supporters of remaining in the French fold; the third largely, because of the boycott of the separatists.
“As soon as the committee of signatories has met, Gérald Darmanin, Minister of the Interior and Overseas Territories, will travel to Nouméa to work on the future of New Caledonia with all the stakeholders”, the statement continues.
The Minister had previously announced his intention to go to New Caledonia at the end of July, with his Minister Delegate in charge of Overseas Jean-François Carenco. “The government first wishes to bring together the committee of signatories in order to close the cycle of the Nouméa agreements”, justified to AFP the entourage of the minister. “This meeting will also open a new cycle of discussions on the institutional future of the island”, adds one place Beauvau.