The Liberian Government and the European Union (EU) on Friday March 12 met for the Ninth (9th) edition of the EU-Liberia Political Dialogue at which time both parties discussed a wide range of issues of mutual interest.
This meeting was held under Article 8 of the Cotonou Partnership Agreement between the EU and the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States, which enables the establishment of a platform for regular and comprehensive political dialogue.
The 9th EU-Liberia Political Dialogue was co-chaired by the Foreign Minister Dee-Maxwell SaahKemayah Sr., and the Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Liberia, Ambassador Laurent Delahousse.
Discussion at the meeting also included the state of the economy and public finance and the implementation of the PAPD; creating the conditions for broad-based economic growth and job creation through business and investment climate measures; governance, accountability, transparency and anti-corruption measures.
The EU and the Liberian Government also discussed issues on human rights, including the conclusions of the latest session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on Liberia and the fight against sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV); elections, including lessons learned from the 2020 mid-term Senatorial elections and Constitutional referendum, as well as electoral reform; public health issues, including Liberia’s response to COVID-19 and preparedness to Ebola virus disease (EVD); the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC); food security; education, including technical and vocational education and training (TVET); and the programming of the EU-Liberia partnership in the period 2021-2027 (following the period 2014-2020, during which the European Union’s support to Liberia under the European Development Fund amounted to around 330 Million US dollars).
At the end of the dialogue, both parties reaffirmed their commitment to continuing to hold regular political dialogues on issues of common interest and following-up on the conclusions and agreements reached in the course of these dialogues. The parties also reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening the EU-Liberia partnership, and expressed their desire that the tenth (10th) edition of the EU-Liberia Political Dialogue takes place in the second half of 2021.
Members of the Liberian delegation included, Kemayah,Sr., Finance and Development Planning Minister amuelTweah. Commerce and Industry Minister Mawine Diggs, Gender, Children and Social Protection Minister Williametta Peso Tarr-Saydee, Justice Minister Frank Musah Dean, Agriculture Minister Jeanine Milley Cooper, Education Minister AnsuSonii (Prof.), Health Minister Wilhelmina Jallah (MD), and Liberia’s Ambassador to Belgium and EU Isaac W. Nyenabo, II.
Others were Molewuleh B. Gray, Chairman of the National Investment Commission, Elizabeth Dorkin, Acting Chairperson of Governance Commission, KanioBaiGbala, Acting Chairman of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, Madam Yusador Gaye, Chairperson of the General Auditing Commission, Cllr. BoakaiDukuly, Commissioner of the National Elections Commission, Mrs. Emma MatiehGlassco, among others.
Representing the European Union, besides the Head of the Delegation of the European Union Ambassador Laurent Delahousse, were the Ambassador of Germany Hubert J. Jäger, Ambassador of Sweden Ingrid Wetterqvist, Ambassador of Ireland Lesley Ni Bhriain, Ambassador of France Michaël Roux,
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Chargéed’Affaires of Ireland Kate O’Donnell, Deputy Head of Mission of Germany JoernSemmler, Deputy Head of Mission of France Hugues Nagy, Head of the Political, Press and Information Section of the Delegation of the European Union Juan Antonio FrutosGoldaratz, Head of Cooperation of the Delegation of the European Union TheodorusKaspers, Head of the Governance Operational Section of the Delegation of the European Union JyrkiTorni, First Secretary of Sweden ArtoImmonen, Second Secretary of Ireland Rachel Fitzpatrick, and Representative of the French Development Agency MathildeRichelet.
