Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Monrovia, Liberia

NEWS SUMMARY FOR THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2015

News of President Johnson Sirleaf’s  commendation for the construction of the electronic library at the Tubman University in Maryland County, Liberia’s participation in the 2015 Annual Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Lima, Peru and the football match between Liberia and Guinea Bissau are stories highlighted in today’s edition of the summary of the local dailies.

DOMINANT STORIES

Ellen Applauds Progress At TU

The FrontPage Africa newspaper reports that President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has said that the construction of state-of-the-art electronic library at the Tubman University in Maryland County, Southeast Liberia will stimulate ongoing effort to expand Liberia’s educational reform with technology at the core.  “This is why Professor Paul Farmer has selected the TU as the site to construct a modern hospital that will serve as a teaching hospital for health care workers who will obtain the skills to work with community leaders and workers as part of government’s effort to build a resilient health system that has the capacity to respond effectively to infectious diseases,” she noted.  The Liberian leader said Tubman University, formerly the W.V.S. Tubman College of Technology, which was shut down during Liberia’s civil upheaval, represents an example of what is possible from determined commitment. According to a dispatch, the President, who returned home Tuesday, spoke last week at a special event organized by the W.V.S. Tubman University Foundation and the MFP in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. She praised the U.S.-based nonprofit William V.S. Tubman University Foundation and the Marylanders for Progress (MFP) for spearheading the construction of an electronic library and learning center at the Tubman University (TU).

Related Captions: Pres. Sirleaf Hail Library Project At Tubman University (West Africa INFO POST), Ellen Applauds U.S. Groups For Project At Tubman University (New Vision)

Minister Konneh Leads High Powered Government Delegation To Lima-Peru

The Minister of Finance and development Planning Amara M. Konneh, at the head of a high-powered Liberian Government delegation, is in Lima, Peru to attend the 2015 Annual Meetings of the World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to discuss Liberia’s development agenda and conclude on commitments made by Development Partners, Heritage newspaper reports.

Related Captions: Konneh Leads High Power Government Delegation To Peru (In Profile Daily), Minister Konneh Leads High Power GoL Delegation… To Peru (The News), Minister Konneh Leads High Power GoL Delegation To Peru (New Democrat)

Liberia Meets Guinea Bissau Today

The nation’s pride – the Lone Star, take on the national team of Guinea Bissau today at the Antoinette Tubman Stadium in Monrovia as part of the World Cup Qualifiers. The Guinea Bissau National Team arrived Tuesday in Monrovia for today’s game. Meanwhile, Lone Star Head Coach, James S. Debbah, has vowed to discipline striker Francis “Grandpa” Doe for misbehaving to a local base player during training, the New Dawn reports.

Related Captions: Lone Star Battles Guinea-Bissau (New Vision), Liberia Vow To Attack Guinea-Bissau In 2018 Qualifier (FrontPage Africa), Liberia Battles Guinea Bissau Today-In Fifa World Cup Qualifiers (In Profile Daily), Liberia Meets G. Bissau Today…Debbah Maintains Winning Team (The NEWS)

OTHER STORIES

Liberia To Borrow US$60M

A US$60 million financing agreement has been submitted by President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to the Liberian Senate for ratification. The money would be re-paid by Liberia within 38 years including a six-year grace period. Signed between Liberia and the International Development Association, the agreement is a special drawing right intended to generate additional funding for the implementation of Liberia’s accelerated electricity expansion project. She said payment dates in line with the agreement would commence on May 15 and November 15 each year, the NEWS newspaper reports.

Cohesive Relations Indian Ambassador Craves For Culture, Religious Exchanges Between Liberia And India

According to the FrontPage Africa newspaper, Indian Ambassador to Liberia, Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone, Dinesh Bhatia has called for more cohesive relationship between both Liberia and India. The Indian Ambassador said Liberia and India have been friends since his country got its independence, saying the two countries have some similarities when it comes to culture and religion. The people of the both countries are similar in thinking and behavior, “the similarities are the people of India and the people of Liberia are similar to each other in terms of the behavior, the only small difference is that when you ask an Indian woman if she marry, she may not have kids but if you ask a woman in Liberia if she is marry she may have one or two kids, this is because we all come from different backgrounds in our respective countries,” he noted. Addressing a group of Liberians who have acquired education from India at an acquaintance meeting in Monrovia, the India Ambassador noted that it is prudent for both Liberians and Indians to come together and share common religion and culture. He said the behavior of people of in the two countries to some extent is alike in more ways, saying the two countries are blessed by God with natural resources. Speaking earlier at the program, Liberia Deputy Foreign Minister Sylvester Grigsby thanked the Indian Government for affording Liberians the opportunity to study in India. Minister Grigsby joined the two Indian envoys to encourage Liberia to keep the torch burning that will further strengthen the relationship between the two countries. He told Indians trained Liberians to always unite, “I encourage you to continue to be together always as it has started,” he noted. The acquaintance meeting is the second meeting since the Indian trained Liberians returned to the country and it brought together over fifty persons that were trained in different disciplines.

Liberia Gets Clearance For WTO

Liberia agreed terms to join the World Trade organization with the body’s existing 161 members on Tuesday, clearing the final negotiating hurdle in time for ministers to rubber stamp the deal at a meeting in December, the WTO said. Liberia has been ravaged by the Ebola epidemic over the past 18 months, spurring the effort by the WTO and Liberia’s Trade Minister Axel Ady to clinch a deal that should help build confidence in its weak economy and reduce poverty, New Democrat reports.

Ellen Returns Home…Says Her Trip Was “Fruitful And Rewarding”

President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has described the just ended 70th Session of the United Nations General Assembly held in New york, United States of America as “rewarding”. “Ti was very long tiring trip; but rewarding also”, she stressed. President Sirleaf noted, among other engagements, that her trip to the U.S. focused on the adoption of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that will replace the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) at the end of 2015, the regular UN General Assembly and other high-level meetings on the margins of the UN General Assembly, Heritage newspaper reports.

LRA Embarks On Real Estate Tax Awareness

The Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) Real Estate Tax Division says it will shortly embark on a awareness campaign to educate real estate/properties owners on the importance of paying annual tax to the |Liberian Government. The division says the awareness will begin with Montserrado County. Speaking at the Ministry of Information Culture and Tourism regular press conference Tuesday, October 6, 2015, LRA Assistant Commissioner for Real Estate Tax Division, Lasana Kromah, said the program is intended to have property owners informed about their obligation to pay tax to the government on their property, Hot Pepper newspaper reports.

MICAT Commences Training Session For Public Relation Officers

The Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT) in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy near Monrovia has commenced a training program for Public Relations Officers assigned at government’s ministries and agencies. The 8-day training program is being held at the Ministry of Information and brings together nearly forty public Relations Officers in the public sector, Heritage newspaper writes.