EU-LIBERIA POLITICAL DIALOGUE

JOINT PRESS RELEASE

Monrovia, March 12, 2021

The Government of the Republic of Liberia and the European Union (EU) met today for the Ninth (9^th) edition of the EU-Liberia Political Dialogue. 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 Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Ambassador Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah Sr., and the Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Liberia, Ambassador Laurent Delahousse.

Both parties discussed a large number of issues of mutual interest, including 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; 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 (10^th) edition of the EU-Liberia Political Dialogue takes place in the second half of 2021.

Members of the Liberian delegation included, H.E. Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah,Sr. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hon. Samuel Tweah, Minister of Finance and Development Planning, Hon. Mawine Diggs, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Hon. Williametta Peso Tarr-Saydee, Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Hon. Frank Musah Dean, Jr. Minister of Justice, Hon. Jeanine Milley Cooper Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Ansu Sonii (Prof.), Minister of Education, Hon. Wilhelmina Jallah (MD), Minister of Health, H. E. Isaac W. Nyenabo, II, Ambassador of Liberia to Belgium and the European Union, Hon. Molewuleh B. Gray, Chairman of the National Investment Commission, Hon. Elizabeth Dorkin, Acting Chairperson of Governance Commission, Kanio Bai Gbala, Acting Chairman of the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, Hon. Yusador Gaye, Chairperson of the General Auditing Commission, Cllr. Boakai Dukuly, Commissioner of the National Elections Commission, Hon. Emma Matieh Glassco, Executive Director of National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority, Rev. Bartholomew B. Colley, Acting Chair of the Independent National Human Rights Commission, Hon. C. Mike Doryen, Managing Director of Forestry Development Authority, and Hon. Edward Mulbah, Executive Director, Ministry of Internal Affairs.

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, Chargée d’Affaires of Ireland Kate O’Donnell, Deputy Head of Mission of Germany Joern Semmler, 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 Frutos Goldaratz, Head of Cooperation of the Delegation of the European Union Theodorus Kaspers, Head of the Governance Operational Section of the Delegation of the European Union Jyrki Torni, First Secretary of Sweden Arto Immonen, Second Secretary of Ireland Rachel Fitzpatrick, and Representative of the French Development Agency Mathilde Richelet.