The United States of America and Liberia today strengthened partnership by signing a Partnership Dialogue that will expand the cooperation between two countries and ensure high-level engagement for years to come.
The Partnership Dialogue will serve as a platform for future bilateral engagement primarily in the areas of agriculture and food security; energy and power; and human development.
In her remarks at U.S.-Liberia Partnership Dialogue Signing Ceremony in Washington DC, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says both countries e are taking another important step to deepen the partnership between our nations and to support Liberia as it continues down the path of democratic and economic reform.
According to Ms. Clinton, the agreement establishes working groups in three key areas.
First, in the areas of agriculture and food security, the US will be helping Liberia’s farmers use their land more effectively and get their crops to markets more efficiently.
Second area is the energy and power infrastructure. Ms. Clinton says that access to affordable, reliable energy is essential to creating jobs and sparking growth that helps to build a strong economy.
To give access for reliable energy to Liberia, the US will take stock of outstanding needs for the generation, transmission, and distribution of energy, promote a regulatory environment that’s friendly to new investments in energy, and look for ways to accelerate the development of a well-governed and inclusive energy sector.
And finally, the US wants to look at human development with a real emphasis on creating more economic opportunity for the people of Liberia to expand access to education and employment as well.
“I think it is more than fair to say that this last decade has been a success story for Liberia.” – Ms. Clinton
She states that the people of Liberia have emerged from a time of violence and lawlessness and have made tremendous commitments to both economic and political reform.
The United States has stood by Liberia during this challenging process, she highlighted.
Ms. Clinton says the developments in Liberia was aided considerably by the leadership of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf launched the U.S.-Liberia Partnership Dialogue to ensure high-level diplomatic and economic cooperation between the United States and Liberia.
Both countries share a robust relationship and mutual commitment to advance of democracy.
Since the end of Liberia’s civil war in 2003, both countries have partnered to strengthen democracy and to promote economic stability.
Sirleaf was named by Forbes magazine as the 51st most powerful woman in the world in 2006. Newsweek listed her as one of the ten best leaders in the world in 2010.
