The Mano River Union (MRU) Secretariat, African Development Bank and the United Nations recently held a senior-level meeting in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, to reaffirm their shared commitment to tackling fragility and strengthening resilience across West Africa.
The Mano River Union is an international association initially established between Liberia and Sierra Leone in 1973 under the Mano River Declaration. The Mano River begins in the Guinea highlands and forms a border between Liberia and Sierra Leone. The Union now includes Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire.
The meeting, which took place on the margins of the MRU Member States statutory meeting, builds on a collaboration initiated in 2020 with the launch of the Fragility and Resilience Assessment in the Mano River Basin. This collaboration culminated in the 2022 publication "Fragility and Resilience in the Mano River Union Subregion: Consolidating Peace Dividends Amid Persistent Challenges."
Chaired by MRU Secretary-General Ambassador Simeon Moribah, the senior officials reviewed strategic priorities for the region. These included enhancing data-driven analyses of fragility and resilience trends for risk-informed and preventative action and consolidating operational synergies to promote peace-positive investments.
The meeting discussed specific projects addressing the root causes of fragility while emphasising the importance of integrating conflict prevention measures into existing and planned initiatives.
"The challenges facing this region are significant, but so too is our resolve. By strengthening regional cooperation, promoting peace, and ensuring good governance, we can turn these challenges into opportunities. Together, we are building a future where peace, security, and development go hand in hand," said Ms Barrie Freeman, Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel.
Mr. Philippe Poinsot, UN Resident Coordinator for Côte d'Ivoire, underscored the capacity of UN country teams to provide MRU Member States with strategic guidance and technical expertise to advance their sustainable development and peacebuilding priorities.
Mr. Riadh Ben Messaoud, Lead Coordinator of the African Development Bank, highlighted the groundbreaking nature of the assessment, noting that it was the first of its kind in the region. He reaffirmed the Bank's commitment to supporting the operationalization of the assessment's key findings in collaboration with the UN and MRU Secretariat to prevent conflict relapse.
In closing, Secretary General Moribah expressed appreciation for the collaborative efforts, stating, "I commend the experts from the MRU Member States and the technical teams from the three institutions for their valuable contributions in developing a program matrix that focuses on the fragility and resilience priorities of the MRU sub-region."
