Arusha — The World Bank Country Director for Burundi, Tanzania, and Uganda, Mr. Philippe Dongier has said that development partners will continue to work together with the government of Burundi to ensure the success of the country's development plans.

"This is not the time to hesitate in supporting Burundi, which needs this support more than ever.

"The government has shown it can achieve success in its efforts to promote growth and reduce poverty, despite many obstacles that hinder its efforts.

"Our new Country Assistance Strategy (CAS) for Burundi shows we are prepared to support the country to achieve its development objectives," said the director in a statement issued by the four development partner.

These included the African Development Bank, the European Union, the International Monetary Fund, the United Nations Development Program, and the World Bank who pledged to strengthen efforts to enable the country to recover from the prevailing challenges.

The statement by the five institutions came after the Conference of Burundi's Development Partners, held in Geneva. It was attended by representatives of more than 100 countries.

They noted that Burundi, one of the five partner states of the East African Community (EAC) is just recovering from lengthy socio-economic and political effects of a civil war.

The country is also experiencing an on-going and severe deficit in energy, an under-performing agricultural sector with threats of food insecurity and malnutrition, unchecked population growth.

Burundi also needs to strengthen capacity in a number of government administrations, and continue to focus on poverty reduction and reach those who have yet to benefit fully from the dividends of peace.

During a conference recently, the government of Burundi outlined its plans for development in the framework of its second Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper.