Acting Foreign Minister B. Elias Shoniyin has thanked the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) for the supportive roles he continues to play on behalf of Liberia.

According to a Foreign Ministry release, Mr. Shoniyin made the assertion when he received in audience a high-level delegation from the UNECA headed by Dr. Carlos Lopes and held fruitful discussions on critical bilateral and multilateral issues.

While welcoming the delegation at the Ministry, Acting Foreign Minister Shoniyin stressed that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf would be very pleased to meet with the delegation to discuss matters in the context of the Commission’s support framework for Africa’s development goals.   

Minister Shoniyin said Mr. Lopes’ visit to Liberia has always meant good for the country especially in the context of Africa’s development framework.

Commenting further, the Acting Foreign Minister stressed that industrialization in Africa is critical to regional and sub-regional growth, emphasizing that development in itself passes through various stages including industrialization.

He assured the delegation of President Sirleaf’s readiness to working closely with the team in addressing Africa’s critical development agenda.

On the issue of migration raised by the visiting delegation, the Minister stressed the need for African governments to direct both political and financial attention towards the challenges posed by migration on the continent. 

Acting Minister Shoniyin stressed the need for African Governments to focus their attention on manufacturing raw materials in the region so as to create jobs as a remedy for minimizing migration from Africa which he said has some negative effects on the continent. He noted that manufacturing brings about intermediate products leading to job creation for the under-developed population. 

Earlier, Dr. Lopes applauded the many achievements made in Liberia and congratulated President Sirleaf for her preferment as Chairperson of the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS) and for her previous roles as Co-chair of the Post-2015 Development Agenda and African Development Bank’s Fragile States; adding, we are very proud of the President numerous achievements.

He informed the Acting Foreign Minister that he and his delegation are in Liberia to hold discussions with President Sirleaf, now chair of ECOWAS, on three core issues including how she as Chair of ECOWAS Authority can use her offices to boost the sub-region’s efforts in the industrialization of the continent especially in the context of ECOWAS’ framework.

According to him, his delegation’s aim is to work with other development partners in supporting development initiatives in the sub-region especially under the ECOWAS’ chairmanship of President Sirleaf which could form part of the President’s legacy tomorrow.

Secondly, he added that his delegation has been entrusted by the African Union to put together a Commission that could form a global agenda to enhance Africa’s development initiatives.

Mr.  Lopes spoke of migration as a huge challenge facing the African continent and wants to see how President Sirleaf, during her chairmanship of ECOWAS, can address the issue. 

He said though the Post-2015 Development Agenda is behind, the new emerging agenda “Vision 2063” is still ahead of Africa, he is calling on governments to form a united front aimed at avoiding fragmentation of development ideas or groups.

Mr.  Carlos Lopes believes President Johnson Sirleaf and Liberia can play an inspiring role in ensuring that other nations follow such a well-structured development approach on the African continent.