Regional cooperation, regional integration and cooperation with other partners
Article 7
1. Subject to Article 3, the association shall support the OCTs in their efforts to take part in relevant international, regional and sub-regional cooperation initiatives as well as regional and sub-regional integration processes, in line with their own aspirations and in accordance with objectives and priorities defined by the competent OCTs’ authorities. 2. To this end, the Union and the OCTs may exchange information and best practices or establish any other form of close cooperation and coordination with other partners in the context of the OCTs’ participation in regional and international organisations, where appropriate by means of international agreements. 3. The association aims to support cooperation between the OCTs and other partners in the areas of cooperation set out in Parts II and III of this Decision. In that respect, the objective of the association is to promote the cooperation between the OCTs and the outermost regions, referred to in Article 349 TFEU, their neighbouring ACP and non-ACP states and territories ( 19 ) . In order to achieve that objective, the Union shall improve coordination and synergies between the relevant Union programmes or instruments. The Union shall also endeavour to associate OCTs in its instances of dialogue with their neighbouring countries, whether they are ACP or non-ACP States or territories, and with the outermost regions, where appropriate. 4. The support to OCTs’ participation in relevant regional integration organisations shall focus in particular on: (a) capacity building of relevant regional organisations and institutions of which OCTs are members; (b) regional or sub-regional initiatives such as the implementation of sectoral reform policies relating to the areas of cooperation identified in Parts II and III; (c) the awareness and knowledge of the OCTs on the impacts of regional integration processes in different areas; (d) OCTs’ participation in the development of regional markets within the framework of regional integration organisations; (e) cross-border investment between OCTs and their neighbours.