The visiting high-poweredQatari delegation currently in Liberia says the team is in the Country to explore and understand the general situations on the ground in order to design basic means of intervention.“It would have been a good thing to sit in our offices in Qatar’scapital Doha and decide what our interventions for Liberia would be just by reading through the internet and other reports, but we chose to come and have full detail accounts for ourselves”. Says Mr. Samer R. Frangieh, Senior Strategic Planning Advisor of the Qatar Fund for Development.
An Internal Affairs Ministry press release said Mr. Frangieh made the disclosure Tuesday when he gave an overview of the purpose of their visit to Liberia at a meeting with Internal Affairs Minister Honorable Varney A. Sirleaf and team at the capitol offices of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA).
The delegation to MIA was headed by Mr. Hamad Mohamed Al-Rumaihi, Minister Plani and head of the Central and West African Countries Section of Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr. Al-Rumaihi said the mission is meeting with Ministries and Agencies which are critical to the socio-economic development of the country. He said the team is assessing key sectors including health, education, infrastructure, disaster management, budget support, youth and women empowerment and human development projects. He said the Government of Qatar is determined to assist Liberia, but they want know the areas of possible intervention.
During the visit, Minister Sirleaf briefed the delegation on the critical needs of the Ministry, including support to Liberia Decentralization Support program (LDSP), the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA) and the Liberia Peacebuilding Office (PBO) among others. There were PowerPoint presentations highlighting the specific priority needs. He also emphasized the need for investments in agriculture.
The Internal Affairs Minister commended President George Manneh Weah upon whose invitation the delegation is in Liberia, saying, the visit signifies the good bilateral relationship existing between Liberia and Qatar which is solidified by the high-level friendship between President Weah and his Qatari counterpart.Honorable Sirleaf believes that the visit and actual realization of the findings of the assessment will further strengthen growth of the already cordial relationship.
He thanked His Excellency Ali Sylla, Head of Mission of Liberia in the State of Qatar for being instrumental in arranging the trip which represents a strong support to the achieving the national vision, the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development(PAPD). Honorable Sylla is accompanying the delegation here.
Also speaking, Ali Sylla, Head of Mission of Liberia in the State of Qatar promised to do all in his power to encourage interventions in Liberia. Honorable Sylla commended the Liberian team for the reception and openness during the meetings.The meeting was also attended by Dr. Liaqat Amin Satti, Strategic Advisor and Deputy Chief Executive Officer and the Honorable FahadRashed Al-Mereikhi, Acting Charge D’Affairs of the State of Qatar in Liberia.
Meanwhile, Tuesday’s activities ended with a dinner at a local hotel in Monrovia called by the Qatari Embassy. The dinner was attended by Dr. Bhofal Chambers, Speaker of the House of the Representatives. In remarks Speaker Chambers said the Qatar mission signifies what Qatar stands for. He said the partnership being nurtured between the two nations and peoples will go a long way.At the same time, Acting Foreign Minister Honorable Henry B. Fahnbulleh called on both Liberian and Qatari teams to continue the engagements and said it was now time to transition from talking to action.
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Tuesday, September 24 marked the second day of the delegation’s interactions with government entities since they arrived over the weekend.
Entities visited already include the Ministries of foreign Affairs, State for Presidential Affairs, Finance and Development planning, Commerce, Gender, Education and Health. Others are the Ministry of Internal Affairs, National Disaster ReliefAgency, Youth and Sports, and National Fisheries among others.
The delegation is expected to meet with Vice President Dr. Jewel Howard-Taylor, National Aids Control Program, Maritime, Transport Ministry, National Port Authority, Transit Authority, Liberia Airport Authority as well as UNICF and UNDP. The release concluded.
