Liberian Foreign Minister Hails Qatari, Kuwaiti Supports To Liberia

REPUBLIC OF LIBERIA

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

MONROVIA, LIBERIA

 Press Release

For Immediate Release

Liberian Foreign Minister Hails Qatari, Kuwaiti Supports To Liberia

[Kuwait City, Kuwait, November 19, 2013]: Foreign Minister Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan has expressed gratitude on behalf of the Liberian Government to the Governments of the States of Qatar and Kuwait for their exemplary support to Liberia’s reconstruction efforts.

The Liberian Foreign Minister who headed Liberia’s advance delegation attending the 3^rd Africa-Arab Summit taking place in Kuwait, in separate meetings with his Qatari and Kuwaiti counterparts, conveyed President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf's profound greetings, while thanking them for their respective support to Liberia.

Minister Ngafuan, in his discussion with Qatari Foreign Minister Dr. Khaled Al-Attiyah, hailed the Qatari Government for the opening of the Qatar Embassy near Monrovia  and the  appointment of its first resident Ambassador to Liberia. Minister Ngafuan noted that these developments demonstrated the solid nature of the bilateral relations between Liberia and Qatar.

While recollecting and expressing gratitude for Qatar’s recent support to Liberian Muslims to participate in the Pilgrimage to Mecca , Minister Ngafuan spoke about the enormous investment opportunities in Liberia in various sectors and requested his Qatari counterpart to encourage Qatari investors to pursue investment opportunities and partnerships in Liberia.

For his part, Qatari Minister Al-Attiyah revealed that Liberia is on his government's strategic radar. Minister Al-Attiyah committed his government to sending an exploratory team to Liberia to assess investment opportunities for Qatari investors. He then promised Qatar’s continued assistance to enable Liberian Muslims make the annual Pilgrimage.

In another development, Minister Ngafuan has lauded Kuwait for its numerous assistance packages to Liberia. During his meeting with Kuwaiti Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Saba Al-Khalid Al-Sabah, Minister Ngafuan listed the grant given by Kuwait to conduct a comprehensive assessment on the Gbanga- Medicorma Highway, the US$12 million debt waiver, the US$14 million support to the National Port Authority (NPA) to enhance its expansion and efficiency, among others as that nation’s contribution to post-war Liberia. 

He then expressed hope that Liberia and Kuwait will conclude a Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation, which will create an overarching and structured framework for cooperation in various sectors.

In response, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Saba Al-Khalid Al-Sabah of Kuwait, who promised the opening of a Kuwaiti resident embassy near Monrovia, told Minister Ngafuan that  the Kuwait Fund supports projects in health, education, infrastructure, trade and investment and expressed hope that Liberia will continue to utilize the Fund.

 The Kuwaiti Foreign Minister, who also chairs the Board of the Kuwaiti Fund, promised to ensure that his country’s partnership and bilateral cooperation with Liberia will be as strong as those with Liberia’s other big international partners.  He expressed support for the conclusion of a Joint Cooperation Agreement between the two countries and hoped that the first Joint Commission between officials of the two countries could convene sometime next year.

He then thanked President Sirleaf for the gratitude expressed relative to his country’s support to Liberia, and promised that Kuwaiti engagement and investment in Liberia will increase in the coming years.

Signed:

       Horatio Bobby Willie

       Assistant Minister/Public Affairs