allAfrica.com: West Africa: Joint Communique of the 18th Session of the MRU Summit (Page 1 of 2)

The Summit Heads of State and Government of the countries of the Mano River Union, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea was held in Monrovia on Thursday 15 May 2008. The sisterly Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, having been attending meetings of the Union as observer since 2004, attended the Summit and acceded to the Union.

Mano River Leaders Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone; the Prime Minister of Guinea, Lansana Kouyate; and a Special Envoy of Ivorian President, Laurent Gbagbo at MRU summit in Monrovia Thursday.

The Summit was attended by His Excellency Ernest Bai Koroma, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone; His Excellency Lansana Kouyate, Prime Minister of the Republic of Guinea; His Excellency Laurent Dona Fologo, Chair of the Economic and Social Council of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, and Proxy of the President of Cote d"Ivoire, His Excellency Laurent Gbagbo.. Her Excellency Madam Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia, served as Chair and host of the Summit.

During their deliberations, which were conducted in a friendly and frank atmosphere the leaders deeply considered issues of common interest and concern relating to the revitalization of the Secretariat of the sub-regional organization, the consolidation of peace, security and stability within the Mano River Union basin plus Cote d'Ivoire and the challenges posed by the rising food prices in the region.

On all three issues, the leaders reaffirmed their strong will to combine their efforts in order to reinforce their resolved to take the appropriate and necessary action to deal with those current and emerging. the emerging issues.

The Summit expressed delight over the progressive return to peace, security and stability in the Mano River basin and agreed, because of the positive developments, to direct their efforts towards promoting socio-economic development and integration. To this end, and after detailed consideration of the associated issues, the Summit decided to:

Approve implementation of on going projects and development of new ones to address the daunting challenges facing the region

Approve the provision by each of the original member country (Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone) the amount of US$100,000 (One Hundred Thousand United States Dollars) to make advance payment benefit to qualified retired and serving staff members of the Secretariat, taking into consideration the need to alleviate financial strains on their families, pending review and verification of amounts owed them with a view to finding lasting settlement to the problem

Approve the provision by each Member Country the amount of US$125,000 (One Hundred Twenty Five Thousand United States Dollars) to the Secretariat operational budget within the next six months to support programs for the period June through December 2008, and instructed the Secretary General to prepare and present to Council a detail and well explained budget for the fiscal year 2009.

Authorize the Secretariat to engage ECOWAS with a view to finding a more sustainable solution for funding the MRU and to continue dialogue with development partners (bilateral and multilateral) to secure support following the development of full fledge programs and projects that would benefit the Union.

Approve the inclusion of projects in the Secretariat's program portfolio so as to address critical peace and security matters within the Mano River basin including the control of small arms and light weapons, harmonization of legislation on arms control and other peace building measures. In this connection, they authorized the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Defense and Security to meet in a month's time and formulate concrete proposals and action plans.

Authorize the Chairperson of the Union to undertake consultations with international bodies and partners and request Member States to pursue with the United Nations for assistance to implement proposed interventions aimed at addressing the food crisis within the Union.

Approve recommendations of the meeting of the Ministers of Agriculture with respect to food security, food production and related activities.

Instructed the Ministers of Agriculture in collaboration with the Secretary General to prepare bankable Union projects that will attract official and private capital in support of Union objectives.

Direct the Ministers of Agriculture to review the food security situation on a regular basis beginning with a meeting to be held one month from now.

The Heads of State and Governments of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea expressed appreciation to the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire for the solidarity and interest shown in the Union over the last four years and formally welcomed Cote d'Ivoire in the Mano River Union, and admitted that sisterly Republic as a full member subject to its national requirements.

The Heads of State reiterated their profound gratitude to the international community for the support in their effort aimed at ensuring that peace and stability are consolidated in the MRU sub-region. In that connection, the leaders undertook to apply every effort to resolve the border discussion between Guinea and Sierra Leone.

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