Acting Foreign Minister, Mr. B. Elias Shoniyin, has praised the excellent relationships that subsist between Liberia and the Federative Republic of Brazil.

According to a Foreign Ministry release, speaking at Brazil’s 194^th Independence Anniversary celebration at a local hotel, Mr. Shoniyin, who is also Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, said Liberia - Brazil relations have a long history dating as far back as 1852, when Brazil recognized the sovereignty of the Republic of Liberia.

“During the course of that same year,” the Acting Foreign Minister said, “Liberia and Brazil entered into a Treaty of Friendship and Commercial Cooperation, and later concluded the Treaty on Judicial Settlement of Controversies in 1925.”

He told Brazilians living in Liberia, including their Ambassador, H. E. Mr. André Santos that relations between both nations took a momentous turn on May 29, 2009, when the Basic Framework Agreement on Technical Cooperation was signed and subsequently ratified by the Liberian Legislature in 2012.

“This legal framework presents opportunity for partnership and development in the areas of agriculture and food security, education, health, sports, capacity building, among others and it lays the basis for long-term sustainable cooperation between our two countries,” he added.

He used the occasion to remind Ambassador Santos that at the invitation of former President Luiz Inacio da Silva, President Sirleaf led a high-level delegation on a historic visit to Brazil in April 2010, thus adding new impetus to the friendship, as the first Liberian Head of State to do so since the signing of the Liberia-Brazil Treaty of Friendship and Commerce in 1852.

He disclosed that that visit culminated in the conclusion of several agreements, including Mechanisms for Political Consultations between the two Foreign Ministries; Cooperation in the fields of education, energy and mining, sports, as well as the establishment of Liberia-Brazil Joint Commission.

Since that landmark visit, Mr. Shoniyin stated, institutions in both countries have deepened partnership in many areas; and that under those arrangements, meaningful initiatives have been undertaken particularly in providing training and scholarship opportunities for Liberians in strengthening the capacity of the nation’s public service administration, assistance in the agricultural sector especially in capacitating our local farmers in adding value to the agriculture produce such as cassava processing, as well as in fisheries and irrigation.

Minister Shoniyin informed Ambassador Santos that Liberia recognizes Brazil as a significant international player that shapes global geopolitical dynamics, as a member of the BRICKS nations and the economic powerhouse of Latin America.

“With its towering reputation, I would like to use this occasion to reiterate Liberia’s commitment to accelerating our cooperation in all spheres, including commerce and trade, the sustainable exploitation of minerals and forest resources, the development of agriculture and agribusiness as well as in education and tourism.

Deputy Foreign Minister Shoniyin used the occasion to express deep appreciation for the contribution of Brazil to the United Nations Mission in Liberia, both in human and substantial financial support and for its efforts to contain the deadly Ebola virus outbreak in the West African region.

Before he concluded his address, Mr. Shoniyin invited the audience to join him toast to the good health, long life and happiness of His Excellency Mr. Michael Temer, President of the Federative Republic of Brazil, the prosperity and wellbeing of the industrious people of Brazil, and to the bonds of friendship and cooperation which so happily subsist between the two nations.

Speaking earlier, Ambassador Santos said despite his country being 194 years old, theirs as a nation, “is still a work in progress activity.”

Touching on their independence, the Brazilian envoy said it actually took Brazilians a long time to understand that "independence" is a process, a long and difficult political and social process, in which factors such as national identity, social development, economic resources and democratic institutions play crucial roles throughout decades and even centuries. 

“This process is not a linear one, in which the advances obtained long ago are guaranteed to exist forever, but rather the result of forces that, at times, go against the very project of the country we are striving to build. A civil war is an extremely painful example of these forces going against the social fabric of a nation,” he further added.