Liberia holds fragile states confab Wednesday
As a meeting of fragile states opens in Liberia on Wednesday, Liberia’s Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs says the post war country is an example of hope rising from tragedy.
Amara Konneh said Liberia experience one of Africa’s most terrible tragedies, but has now emerged as a recent case study of hope in Africa.
He was speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, ahead of a two- day meeting on “State Building and Peace Building” in Monrovia.
Konneh recounted that during the decade of civil war, Liberia was regarded as a land of political comedy, widespread corruption and unimaginable challenges to the outside world.
He said Liberia became the hot bed for screaming headlines for both local and international media adding that it was a period of darkness and insanity.
Nearly eight years, since civil war ended in the country in 2003, following the departure of Former Liberian President Charles Taylor and the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Accord in Accra, Ghana, Minister Konneh said that an “era of peace” has once again been restored in the country buttressed by the presence of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), and a demonstration of commitment by Liberians to maintain peace.
The Liberian official said that as a country recovering from years of devastating civil war, he was happy that Liberia is playing host to a dialogue on the role developing and developed countries, development partners, civil society organizations, and ordinary citizens can play in building peace, developing capable and accountable states.
He noted that they will also review progress on the work undertaken; “State Building and Peace Building,” on a set of common objectives for an international action plan.
“The outcome of the Monrovia dialogue will be presented to the fourth high level forum on aid in South Korea in November, this year,” the Liberian Economic Minister added.
For her part, the Head of the Governance and Fragile States Policy of the UK Department for International Development, Bella Bird applauded Liberia for the smooth transition in its post war reconstruction derives.
Madam Bird said despite outstanding challenges, Liberia presents hope for countries outside its borders.
“We’ll definitely look to the experience of Liberia for inspiration while, we the international partners consider how we can work with these experiences on the fragility around the world”, she noted.
The DFID Executive said that the dialogue which is a partnership conceived at a meeting in Prague, Czechoslovakia in 2005 at a high level forum on aid effectiveness is intended to give a stronger voice to developing countries in deciding how international assistance can help them in the best possible way to go through transition.
She disclosed that her organization has a plan to consider how in the future an international assistance can be provided to countries experiencing fragility in the way that would be more effective than has been in the past.
The DFID official expressed optimism about the conference and hoped the forum would revise a plan of action that would change the pattern in which partnership works between the international community and developing countries.
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