If 2025 can be described as the year of positioning, then 2026 must become the year of performance.
Over the past twelve months, Liberia has quietly assembled the building blocks of a more confident economic and geopolitical posture. Not through rhetoric, but through a series of tangible developments that suggest the country is emerging -- carefully, deliberately -- from the margins of global relevance into a space where it can exercise agency.
As the calendar turns, Liberia enters 2026 not merely with hope, but with momentum.
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One of the clearest signals of this shift is visible in concrete and steel. The China-funded overpass project in Monrovia, once dismissed by skeptics as another unfulfilled promise, is now well underway. It joins a growing list of Chinese-backed infrastructure interventions -- from road rehabilitation to public works and technical cooperation -- that speak to Beijing's continued engagement with Liberia as part of its broader Africa strategy. These projects are not acts of charity; they are strategic investments. And for Liberia, they represent improved urban mobility, productivity, and the long-overdue modernization of public infrastructure.
Beyond China, India is also stepping forward with intent. New discussions around tourism cooperation reflect a recognition of Liberia's untapped cultural, ecological, and heritage assets. For a country seeking to diversify beyond extractives, tourism offers not just revenue, but image-building -- soft power rooted in history, creativity, and people. India's interest aligns with Liberia's own need to develop sectors that generate jobs, skills, and global visibility without exhausting finite resources.
Then there is the United States, where 2025 produced a series of consequential milestones that collectively mark a reset in bilateral engagement.
The reaffirmation of Liberia's eligibility under the Millennium Challenge Corporation was a quiet but powerful endorsement of governance reform and institutional credibility. In an era when development finance is increasingly conditional and competitive, MCC reaffirmation is not given lightly. It signals confidence -- not perfection, but direction.
The Legislature's ratification of the Ivanhoe Atlantic Concession and Access Agreement added an even heavier geopolitical layer. This was not just about mining. It was about infrastructure, logistics, and Liberia's place in emerging Western-aligned supply chains at a time when critical minerals, rail access, and port connectivity are strategic assets. Few private-sector deals in recent decades have carried such long-term implications for Liberia's economic geography.
The introduction of a three-year U.S. visa regime for Liberians further underscored this renewed confidence. For ordinary Liberians, it eases travel and uncertainty. For the diaspora, it enables deeper commercial, professional, and academic engagement. And for Washington, it reflects trust in Liberia's systems and people.
It was against this backdrop that President Donald J. Trump placed a direct call to President Joseph Nyuma Boakai. According to the Executive Mansion, the conversation focused on economic diplomacy and matters of mutual interest. A source close to the President confirmed it was a private, leader-to-leader exchange -- no aides, no transcript.
In diplomacy, that matters. Calls initiated by a U.S. president are rarely idle. This one came not as Liberia retreats from aid dependence, but as it prepares to assume a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. It was less about congratulations than alignment -- less about nostalgia than the future.
As Liberia kicks off 2026 at the Security Council, it does so with something uniquely valuable: lived experience. This is a country that knows war -- and peacemaking. That has hosted and contributed to peacekeeping missions. That has confronted pandemics, public health crises, and cross-border emergencies with limited resources but hard-earned resilience. In a world grappling with protracted conflicts, fragile states, and global health threats, Liberia's voice is neither theoretical nor abstract.
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We are entering the second quarter of the 21st century on keener footing, positioned to play a more consequential role across multiple stages -- geopolitical, economic, and security-related. But global relevance is not sustained by agreements and phone calls alone.
The harder question now turns inward.
How are we preparing Liberians -- at home and abroad -- to carry this moment responsibly? How do we ensure that our citizens, in their private capacities as professionals, students, entrepreneurs, and public servants, reflect the seriousness of a country stepping onto bigger platforms?
Global presence demands more than access; it demands excellence. More than visibility; it demands integrity. More than opportunity; it demands character.
If 2025 was the year Liberia set the table, 2026 will test whether we are ready to sit confidently among others -- not as spectators, but as credible contributors.
