Deputy Foreign Minister for Administration Mawine Diggs has called on London based firms and individuals to explore investment opportunities in Liberia’s growing market economy.

The call by madam Diggs was contained in a speech delivered at the Liberia-UK Conference held on December 5,2019 in London, United Kingdom.

She told participating firms and individuals that the government of Liberia is thrilled to have had their presence at the conference; something she said demonstrates not only their interest in Liberia as an investor but the potential opportunities of bridging social, economic and skill gaps

Within the private sector.

According to Deputy Minister Diggs, London is ideal for the hosting of the Investment conference as the City of London is a historic metro financial district which serves as the home to both the London Stock Exchange (an exchange with a market capitalization of US$4.58 trillion which is one of the world’s oldest

stock exchanges tracing its history back to 157) and the Bank of England the model on which most modern central banks around the world have been built.

She lauded the United Kingdom for its continuous leadership, service, and grace to mankind over all these many centuries.

“ I would like to thank the British Ambassador to Liberia and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) for collaborating with our embassy here in London to organize this investment forum in order to provide participating firms and individual investors access to investment opportunities in Liberia and to meet British and Liberian government officials” Minister Diggs noted.

The Deputy Foreign Minister for Administration also expressed hope that all of the businesses and investors attending the conference would  begin to identify ownership interests in order to invest their capital in Liberia’s growing market economy which will expand activities in our investment sectors to spur job growth and provide an added boost to the private sector of Liberia.

“if there is nothing else you leave here with, leave knowing that His Excellency Dr. George Manneh Weah has declared Liberia open and ready for business. Therefore, we look forward to seeing you on the beautiful shores of Liberia as you come to survey the various investment opportunities available to you” Minister Diggs added.

Commenting further, the Liberian Deputy Foreign Minister for Administration used the occasion to inform investors that currently, under the leadership of President George Manneh Weah the government’s poverty reduction strategy is widely supported by the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD).

According to her the primary focuses of the PAPD surround the rebuilding of core functions and institutions, rehabilitating infrastructure, facilitating substantial growth, empowering Liberians through education, health, youth development, social protection, enabling private sectored economic growth, supporting a peaceful society, and creating an inclusive and accountable public sector.

“Liberia’s medium-term growth prospects are expected to improve as our government continues to implement several macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform initiatives” she furthered.

She disclosed that Liberia is now involved in a major reconstruction process that touches on every aspect of improving the economy by attracting foreign direct investments.

“Our government believes the growth of the private sector is a cornerstone of our development strategy. We are confident that the private sector will serve as the backbone to our growing economy” Madam Diggs stressed.

Deputy Minister Mawine Diggs also noted that government under the leadership of President Weah is encouraging foreign capital investment adding that the Government considers this as a support to private enterprise, which is important to create jobs and expand growth in the sectors of agriculture, forestry, infrastructure development, transportation, mining and energy.

She said the Liberian government’s commitment to continuously fostering an investor friendly environment has led to the revamping of processes and procedures required to register a business.

“Today it is easy to register a business in Liberia as the government has reduced previously existing

bureaucratic bottlenecks while streamlining the paperwork process to create a one-stop shop structure that creates ease with registering a business domestically” she asserted .

She informed the investors and participating firms that there is peace and stability in Liberia stressing that Liberia is a country that has been endowed with great natural resources along with a highly skilled and educated manpower.

Madam Diggs re-iterated to the investors that Liberia is rich in iron ore, rubber, diamond and gold and most importantly, thousands of people are willing and ready to work.