Liberia: EU-Liberia Holds One-Day Policy Dialogue On EU Initiatives

25 November 2022
The New Dawn (Monrovia)

The Government of Liberia, through the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, and the Delegation of the European Union to Liberia held a one-day policy dialogue on Thursday aimed at reviewing the portfolio of the European Union (EU) programmes in Liberia.

This review, which brings together several stakeholders and partners, is aimed at gaining insight into the impact of the EU projects implemented in partnership with the Liberian government on targeted communities and groups in Liberia.

The dialogue will identify challenges and lessons learned and make recommendations to improve the implementation of EU programmes in Liberia for future collaboration.

This review will also contribute to building and strengthening the capacities of Liberian institutions to ensure the sound management and sustainability of EU programmes in Liberia, in support of the effective implementation of the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD), to the benefit of the Liberian people.

The Head of Delegation of the European Union, Ambassador Laurent Delahousse, said "The EU is here to deliver to the people of Liberia. This is done by our programmes, implemented through teamwork with the Government and our implementing partners. The Portfolio review will help in assessing how well all of us are doing and how to improve our collective performance to serve the objectives of the Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development".

Background

The Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness (2005) recognizes that each country has primary responsibility for its own development progress, that development assistance must be country-led, and that donors and recipients have a shared responsibility to ensure the successful implementation of assistance activities.

In this light, it is important for the Government of Liberia (GOL) and its international partners to periodically review the international partners' assistance programmes to ensure that they are aligned with Liberia's own developmental priorities. Therefore, the European Union, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, is conducting a Country Portfolio Review.

General Overview of the EU Portfolio in Liberia

The European Union is one of the largest providers of external assistance to Liberia. The EU National Indicative Programme for Liberia in the period 2014-2020, under the 11th European Development Fund, amounted to USD 326 million (EUR 279 M), and included the following focal sectors:

  • Good Governance (indicative amount USD 125 M / EUR 107 M)
  • Energy (USD 117 M / EUR 100 M)
  • Education (USD 37.5 M / EUR 32 M)
  • Agriculture (USD 35 M / EUR 30 M)
  • Civil Society (USD 4.7 M / EUR 4 M)
  • Supporting Measures (USD 7 M / EUR 6 M)

The European Union also supports Liberia through General Budget Support to the Liberian budget enabling Liberia to increase its national budget and be able to pay teachers, nurses, doctors, and free resources for important investments.

The EU programmes are aligned to the four pillars of the government of Liberia's Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development (PAPD): Pillar 1: Power to the People; Pillar 2: Economic and Jobs; Pillar 3: Sustaining the Peace and Pillar 4: Governance and Transparency

In the period 2021-2027, the EU will remain a solid partner of Liberia, through a new EU cooperation instrument, the "NDICI-Global Europe" (Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation Instrument) and its 3 pillars (geographic, thematic, rapid response). Liberia will continue to receive consistent EU financial support through NDICI-Global Europe. The EU will seek to enhance the impact of the EU cooperation on the ground, to the benefit of the Liberian people.

The EU Multi-annual Indicative Programme (MIP) 2021-2027, which specifies the focal sectors for the EU cooperation in Liberia, was approved in December 2021. The cooperation of the EU and EU Member States with Liberia is driven by a Team Europe approach, seeking to maximize the unity, coordination, complementarity and impact of the combined actions of the EU and EU Member States (Germany, Ireland, France and Sweden have Embassies and bilateral programmes in Liberia), with the aim to obtain real, sustainable results in Liberia, to deliver to the Liberian people.

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