Liberia to Host Major Int'l Governance, Rural Development Summit

3 June 2026
Liberian Observer (Monrovia)

Liberia is set to host a high-level International Roundtable on Local Governance and Rural Development from June 7-13, 2026, at the Farmington Hotel in Margibi County. The event will focus on strengthening effective local governance and advancing rural development across the country.

The forum is being organized in partnership with the African-Asian Rural Development Organization (AARDO), headquartered in New Delhi, India. The roundtable will bring together experts and facilitators from across Africa and Asia. Established in 1962, AARDO is an autonomous, non-political intergovernmental organization with more than 30 member countries, including Liberia.

According to a press release from the Ministry of Local Government, the roundtable is expected to support the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development by drawing on international experiences to build inclusive, resilient, and sustainable rural communities through empowered local institutions.

The Ministry stated that Liberia will benefit from comparative lessons from AARDO member countries that have successfully implemented innovative governance frameworks and rural development models.

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The opening ceremony will be graced by President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., alongside Dr. Manoj Nardeosingh, Secretary-General of AARDO.

The Ministry further disclosed that the roundtable will bring together more than 150 delegates, including 30 experts from AARDO member countries, 15 Liberian resource persons, county superintendents, county development officers, city mayors, and representatives from various government institutions.

Participating countries are expected to include India, Portugal, Romania, Japan, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ghana, The Gambia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Morocco, Oman, and Sri Lanka, among others.

The roundtable will focus on several thematic areas, including local governance and decentralization in support of the ARREST Agenda, international experiences in local governance for rural transformation, agriculture-led and community-driven rural development models, institutional capacity and human resource development at the local level, financing rural development and local governance under the ARREST Agenda, digital governance and service delivery for rural inclusion, climate resilience, sanitation, policy integration, rule of law, and the way forward under the ARREST Agenda.

Held under the theme "Advancing Local Governance and Rural Development for an Inclusive and Prosperous Future," the forum is expected to provide Liberia with a unique opportunity to refine its governance architecture, strengthen local institutions, and adopt flexible rural development models that promote resilience, inclusion, and sustainability, the release concluded.

Read the original article on Liberian Observer.

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