THE BUREAU OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia.

NEWS SUMMARY FOR WEDNESDAY,FEBRUARY 18, 2015

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf’s trip to the United Arab Emirate to share her experience on crisis management, and her meeting with the United States Congressional Staffers’ delegation are the dominant stories in today’s dailies.

Other stories includePresident Sirleaf’s congratulatory message to The Gambia, Swedish Minister’s courtesy call on President Sirleaf and Government plan to deploy Ebola workers in Hospital.

DOMINANT STORIES

Ellen Travels To UAE Next Week – To Lecture On Crisis Management

According to the New Republic newspaper, the President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is to share her experience on crisis management at the International Government Communication Forum in Sharjah next week, the Hints News Network reported yesterday February 17, 2015. Liberia has made enormous progress in the fight against the Ebola virus that hit it so well, trouncing thousands of lives and beating back economic gains. Besides huge international involvements in the form of logistical, financial and personnel supports, many credited the success to her able leadership ability. President Sirleaf, Africa’s first democratically elected female President, will highlight her government’s efforts in regaining the trust of her people during periods of crisis, specifically focusing on her role during the Ebola outbreak.

Related Captions: Ellen Speaks At UAE Forum Monday(New Democrat),and Swedish International Development Cooperation Minister Visits Liberia(New Democrat)

Pres. Sirleaf Meets With U.S. Congressional Staffers’ Delegation

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has held discussions with a United States Congressional Staffers’ Delegation visiting Liberia. The delegation is in the country to assess the impact of the United States Government’s assistance to the Ebola response and to see what lies ahead of the country for the post Ebola period. The delegation headed by Majority Clerk, Senate Appropriation Sub-Committee for State and Foreign Operations and Related Programs, Mr. PaulGrove, included Staff Member of the same committee, Mr. Adam Yazerski; Majority Clerk, Senate Appropriation Subcommittee on Labor, Health, Human Services, Education and Related Agencies, Ms. Laura Friedel; and an official at the Department of State, Mr. Paul Radmacher, writes the INSIGHT newspaper.

Related Captions:President Sirleaf Meets With U.S Congressional Staffers’ Delegation(FrontPage Africa),and Ellen Meets U.S. Congressional Delegation(The News), President Sirleaf Meets With Congressional Staffers’ Delegation(The New Dawn)

OTHER STORIES

Ellen Congratulates Gambia On 50^th Independence

The In Profile Dailyquotes a Foreign Ministry release: The President of the Republic of Liberia, Her Excellency Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has sent a message of congratulations to the Government and People of the Republic of The Gambia on the occasion commemorating the 50^th Independence Anniversary of that country. In her message to her Gambian counterpart, His ExcellencyAlhaji Dr. YahyaA. A.  Jammeh, President Johnson Sirleaf extended heartfelt felicitations and best wishes to the Government and People of The Gambia  on behalf of the Government and People of Liberia,  and in her own name. The Liberian leader further entertained the hope that as the People of Gambia commemorate another milestone in their national history, the cordial ties of friendship and cooperation between both countries will continue to be strengthened for the mutual benefits of their respective governments and peoples. 

Swedish Int’l Development Cooperation Minister pays Courtesy Call on Pres. Sirleaf

The INSIGHTnewspaper reports that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has commended the Swedish Government for its continued assistance to Liberia. According to an Executive Mansion release, the Liberia leader made the commendation at her Foreign Ministry office in Monrovia when she met the Swedish Minister of International Development Cooperation, Ms. Isabella Lovin, accompanied by the Swedish Ambassador accredited to Liberia, Soria Strand and a four-member delegation. Speaking further, President Sirleaf thanked the Swedes for their support to the country during a very difficult period in Liberia’s history.

Related Caption:Swedish International Development Cooperation Minister, Ms. Lovin Pays Courtesy Call On President Sirleaf(FrontPage Africa)

ECOWAS Accredits Three New Foreign Envoys

Three new Foreign Ambassadors were accredited to the ECOWAS Commission in brief but separate ceremonies at the Commission’s Abuja headquarters on Friday February 13, 2014. In his remarks while receiving the Letters of Credence from Ambassador Antonio Pedro Rodrigues da Silver of Portugal, the President of the Commission H.E. KadréDésiré Ouédraogo thanked the PortugueseGovernment for working with ECOWAS and the EU to resolve the recent political crisis in Guinea Bissau. The envoy in turn assured the ECOWAS chief of the Portuguese Government‘s continue support and commitment to the deepening relations with ECOWAS. President Ouédraogo also congratulated Ambassador Carlos Trejo Sosa of Cuba and commended the key role played by the country in helping region contain the Ebola epidemic. He also thanked the Cuban Government for supporting ongoing efforts to eradicate malaria in West Africa through a Tripartite Agreement involving Venezuela, ECOWAS and Cuba for the construction of three biolarvicide factories in the region. While acknowledging the Letters of Credence of Ambassador Jovan Maric of Serbia, President Ouédraogo expressed his appreciation for the value the Serbian Government places on the ECOWAS vision of economic integration, reports the New Republicnewspaper.

Abidjan To Host Ministerial Conference On Statelessness

The In Profile Daily reports that the Government of Côte d’Ivoire and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will jointly host the first Ministerial Conference on Statelessness in West Africaalong with the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS). The conference will last from 23 – 25 February 2015. Of the 10 million people who are stateless or at risk of statelessness in the world, at least 750,000 live in West Africa, a UNHCR release has indicated. This figure is said to be just an estimate, there are many groups of people who could be stateless or at risk of statelessness that have not yet been evaluated. These individuals are typically in this situation because they have difficulties proving they possess links to a State due, for instance, to lack of birth registration and personal documentation that traces their origins and could confirm their identity, populations without birth certificates, abandoned children, undocumented stranded migrants, and individual living in areas of state succession and border disputes constitute some of the major groups of people at risk of statelessness in West Africa.

Related Caption: Ivory Coast To Hold Ministerial Confab On Statelessness In W’Africa(Inquirer)

Gov’t To Deploy Ebola Workers In Hospitals

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has disclosed plans by the government to redeploy Ebola workers to healthcare institutions. The President, noting that the Government’s planned interventions and program such as the roads to health concept, training, remain unaltered, said, “The Agenda for Transformation” remains the key development plan, but many of the variables have changed due to the outbreak of the Ebola virus disease. Structural changes are now required to address the new variables that have emerged, pens the Analyst newspaper.